Key indices pare early gains, but end in green

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Wednesday, marking their fourth straight session of gains on the back of buying in index majors Reliance Industries (RIL) and HDFC twins.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 146.59 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 59,107.19 even as 11 of its constituents gained while 19 declined. During the day, it rallied 439.09 points or 0.74 per cent to 59,399.69. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 25.30 points or 0.14 per cent to end at 17,512.25 with 18 of its stocks ending higher and 32 closing lower.

Heavy buying in HDFC, Reliance Industries and Nestle helped indices close higher for a fourth straight session. Sensex and Nifty gained more than 3 per cent in the four-day rally.

"European markets interrupted their winning run after a 40-year high CPI in the UK. However, the strong US market due to healthy corporate result announcements is helping the domestic market to sustain the positive trend," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd, adds: "After the initial uptick, the key indices witnessed a gradual decline as participants preferred to book some profits off the table. Most sectors traded in line with the move and ended flat to marginal in the green. The broader indices too witnessed a similar trend."

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 153.40 crore, as per exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge ended marginally higher by 0.13 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.03 per cent.