By IANS
Mumbai : Indian shares Tuesday continued the upward surge buoyed by buying in select banking stocks and blue-chip shares with a key index rising 0.24 percent.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Senstive Index (Sensex) closed a modest 35.12 points or 0.24 percent up at 14,453.72, inching towards its second highest close after it breached the 14,700 mark on Feb 9.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue national Stock Exchange (NSE) index, Nifty, was up 17.20 points or 0.40 percent to a close at an all-time high of 4,278.10, breaching its previous best of 4,260.90, registered the previous day.
Top housing finance company HDFC led the major index gainers of the day, as it gained 4.44 percent at Rs.1,794.45. Leading private telecom service provider Reliance Communication, which slashed its national roaming rates for its mobile service by 70 percent during the day, was up 3.37 percent at Rs.523.35 and cement major ACC gained 2.21 percent at Rs.890.75.
India's largest private sector firm Reliance Industries continued its good run for the fourth straight day as it closed at Rs.1,775.25, gaining Rs.13.70 per share or 0.78 percent on its last trade.
The second largest private leader HDFC Bank was up 1.25 percent at Rs.1,116.80.
State-run heavy equipment maker BHEL, top carmaker, state-owned Maruti Udyog, top private telecom service provider Bharti Airtel, two-wheeler maker Hero Honda and textile major Grasim Industries were among the other major index gainers of the day.
Leading the major index losers were top two- and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto, down 2.37 percent at Rs.2,195.05, followed by leading cement producer Gujarat Ambuja Cements, down 2.23 percent at Rs.116.30, and India largest lender state-run State Bank of India, down 1.64 percent at Rs.1,324.65.
Leading private lender ICICI Bank, state-owned thermal power producer NTPC, top aluminium producer Hindalco Industries, oil and natural gas producer state-run ONGC, third largest software exporter Infosys Technologies, its bigger rivals top software exporter TCS, and second largest software exporter Wipro traded in the red.