By IANS,
Mumbai : Helped by a late buying surge, a benchmark index for Indian equities Thursday closed 110 points higher than its previous close.
The late rally came as it was the closing of the March series of futures and options contracts.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,458.51 points, closed at 17,561.48 points (provisonal), 110.46 points or 0.6 percent higher than its previous close at 17,451.02 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,260 points, a gain of 0.66 percent or 34.7 points from its previous close.
Broader markets, however, closed flat, with the BSE midcap index ending a meagre 0.06 percent up and the BSE smallcap index closing 0.25 percent down.