By IANS
Mumbai : Modest to heavy buying in most sectors enabled Indian stock markets to post gains despite a slowdown in Asian markets.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,541.17 points and notched a high of 18,142.92, gained 348.62 points at the day’s close at 18,115.25, up 1.96 percent.
The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 5,202.85 points, closed at 5,302.90 after touching the day’s high of 5,315.40 points. It gained 100.90 points, up 1.94 percent over the previous close.
The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 7,592.08 points, went up by 139.36 or 1.87 percent.
The BSE Smallcap index notched a slightly better performance. Closing at 9,621.13, it went up 213.37 points or 2.27 percent.
On BSE, the market breadth was positive at the close of this week’s last trading session.
The top gainers of the day were Hindalco, up by 9.01 percent at Rs.178.50, Tata Steel, up 5.12 percent at Rs.818.50, Bajaj Auto, up 4.78 percent at Rs.2,174.75 and State Bank of India, up 4.21 percent at Rs.2,297.95.
The top losers included Maruti Suzuki, which fell by 2.13 percent to Rs.812.75, Grasim down 1.13 percent at Rs.2,814.20, Tata Consultancy Services down 0.30 percent at Rs.871.50 and Ambuja Cements down 0.30 percent at Rs.115.85.