By IANS,
Mumbai : Like its Asian peers, a benchmark index for Indian equities closed higher Friday. The rise — by 85 points — was due to gains in auto, consumer durables and financial stocks.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,558.85 points, closed at 17,644.76 points, 85.91 points or 0.49 percent higher than its previous close.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,282 points, a gain of 0.41 percent or 21.6 points from its previous close.
Broader markets were mixed, with the BSE midcap index ending 0.71 percent higher and the BSE small cap index remaining unchanged.
The market breadth was slightly negative, with 1,200 stocks advancing, compared to 1,651 on the decline, while 88 remained unchanged.
Among the gainers on the 30-scrip Sensex were Tata Motors, up 3.36 percent at Rs.749.65; Hindustan Unilever, up 2.61 percent at Rs.237.60; M&M, up 2.2 percent at Rs.1,077.70; and ICICI Bank, up 1.91 percent at Rs.947.70.
Top losers included Reliance Infra, down 1.49 percent at Rs.1,008.05; DLF, down 1.3 percent at Rs.295.25; Bharti Airtel, down 1.15 percent at Rs.310.15; and Infosys, down 1 percent at Rs.2,777.60.
In other Asian markets, most benchmark indices ended trade dull.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.32 percent at 21,053.11 points, while the Chinese Shanghai composite index closed 1.34 percent higher at 3,059.72 points.
The South Korean Kospi ended trade with modest gains, up 0.55 percent at 1,697.72.39 points, while the Japanese Nikkei shut shop 1.55 percent in the green at 10,996.37 points.
European markets were, however, ruling in the red.
The FTSE 100, the benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange, was ruling at 5,709.67 points, down 0.31 percent, and its German peer, DAX, was trading a similar 0.31 percent lower at 6,114.09 points.
The French CAC 40 index, too, was in the red, down 0.25 percent at 3,990.66 points.