By IANS,
Mumbai : After a volatile session due to weak global cues, a key Indian stock market index closed a tad higher Wednesday, even though it had logged one of its biggest gains in recent years during the traditional, hour-long Diwali-day trading a day earlier.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 9,297.76 points, which was also the day’s intra-day peak.
As the seesaw session progressed, the barometer index fell to the day’s low of 8,894.34 points, before closing at 9,044.51 – to post a marginal gain of 36.43 points, or 0.40 percent, over Tuesday’s close.
The index had posted a gain of 498.52 points, or 5.9 percent, during the hour-long ceremonial trading on Diwali, which also marks the New Year for a section of investors as per the Hindu lunar calendar.
Among the 30 shares that make up the Sensex, 13 scrips ended with losses, led by leading telecom player Reliance Communications, down 10.27 percent, followed by drug-maker Ranbaxy Laboratories, down 9.62 percent, and realty major DLF, down 6.98 percent.
Metals major Hindalco led the gainers, up 18.24 percent, followed by automaker Mahindra and Mahindra, up 8.25 percent, top IT firm Wipro, up 7.33 percent, Associated Cement Companies, up 9.93 percent, and another metals company Sterlite, up 6.57 percent.
Among the 13 sector-specific indices of the exchange, six closed in the green and the others ended in the negative territory.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader S&P CNX Nifty ended at 2,712.50 points, up 27.90 points or 1.04 per cent.
Data with the markets watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), showed that foreign funds continued to remain net sellers in the market, offloading over $250 million worth of shares Wednesday.
These funds have sold new equities worth $3.53 billion this month and $12.66 billion in this calendar year.