By IANS
Mumbai : Led by banking and technology heavyweights, Indian equities closed firm Tuesday with a key index rising by 0.27 percent.
The 30-share benchmark Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 39 points or 0.27 percent up at 14,535.01 with 16 of its components trading in the green.
The broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index, Nifty, too closed firm, up 17.60 points or 0.41 percent at 4,284.65.
Leading the Sensex surge was state-run State Bank of India, up 2.10 percent at Rs.1,436.25, followed by energy producer Reliance Energy, up 1.72 percent at Rs.550.55 and two-wheeler and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto, up 1.35 percent at Rs.2,249.10.
Second largest software exporter Infosys Technologies, top private sector telecom service provider Bharti Airtel, drug major Ranbaxy Laboratories, housing finance company HDFC, state-owned heavy electrical equipment maker BHEL, steel maker Tata Steel and second largest lender private sector ICICI Bank were among the other major index gainers.
Top cigarette maker ITC led the major losers, down 1.79 percent at Rs.161.80, followed by engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro, down 1.26 percent at Rs.1,945.05 and cement major Gujarat Ambuja Cements, down 1.01 percent at Rs.112.75.
Fourth largest software exporter Satyam Computers, state-run carmaker Maruti Udyog, pharma major Cipla, state-run energy major ONGC and private sector HDFC Bank were among the major index stocks that traded in the red.