By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets Wednesday moved up 72 points higher than its previous close after giving up some gains in the last 30 minutes of trade Wednesday.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,882.39 points, ended trade at 15,903.83 points, up 72.85 points or 0.46 percent.
The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, shut shop in the green at 4,694.15 points, up 0.29 percent.
Among broader market indices, the BSE midcap index closed a marginal 0.12 percent up.
Buying of lower market capitalised scrips pushed the representative BSE smallcap index 1 percent higher.
Realty, auto and FMCG stocks came under selling pressure, while consumer durables and energy stocks moved up.
The market breadth was positive with 1,611 stocks advancing, 1,062 declining and 94 remaining unchanged.
Among the gainers on the Sensex were ONGC, up 4.5 percent at Rs.1,192.40; Wipro, up 4.13 percent at Rs.502.25; Infosys, up 2.49 percent at Rs.2,094.55; and ACC, up 2.42 percent at Rs.922.
Among the losers were Maruti Suzuki, down 3.44 percent at Rs.1,436; Hindalco, down 1.86 percent at Rs.110.85; DLF, down 1.74 percent at Rs.391.40; and HDFC, down 1.54 percent at Rs.1,447.55.
The total traded turnover stood at Rs.87,766.43 crore, with Rs.18,038.04 crore coming from the NSE cash segment, Rs.63,729.03 crore being contributed by the NSE futures and options segment and the balance Rs.5,999.36 crore from the BSE cash segment.
According to data with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors bought shares worth $43.7 million Wednesday.
In other Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed in the red at 10,252.5 points, down 122.48 points from its last closing figure.
The Hang Seng, a primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, too fell, ending at 20,494.77 points, down a marginal 301.66 points.
In Europe, key market indices opened on a weak footing while trading was still on at Indian bourses. They, however, recovered a bit, with FTSE, a key British index, rising 12.25 points or 0.26 percent at 4,683.62 points.
Its French peer, the CAC 40, was at 3,495.29 points, 18.92 points or 0.54 percent higher than its previous close.
On the other hand, the German index DAX was in the negative terrain at 5,416.89, down 0.13 percent.