By IANS,
New Delhi : A benchmark index of Indian equities Thursday tapered in the last hour of trade and ended a modest 70 points higher than its previous close.
Elsewhere in Asia and Europe, stocks hit highs after new austerity measures pledged by Portugal and Spain raised hopes that Europe’s debt crisis can be contained, easing investor concerns.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,323.63 points, closed at 17,265.87 points, 70.06 points or 0.41 percent up from its previous close at 17,195.81 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended 5,178.9 points with a gain of 0.43 percent from its previous close at 5,156.65 points.
Broader market indices were doing better with the BSE midcap index ending 1.23 percent up and the BSE smallcap index closing 0.97 percent higher.
Realty, auto and consumer durables scrips saw buying interest, while metals came under selling pressure.
Among gainers on the 30-scrip Sensex were Tata Motors, up 3.53 percent at Rs.831.10; M&M, up 3.42 percent at Rs.565; DLF, up 3.03 percent at Rs.306.05; and Reliance Infra, up 2.73 percent at Rs.1,027.85.
Prominent losers included Tata Steel, down 1.54 percent at Rs.575.35; Bharti Airtel, down 1.11 percent at Rs.258.65; RIL, down 0.94 percent at Rs.1,071.80; and Wipro, down 0.53 percent at Rs.675.10.
According to data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors were net sellers Thursday, having sold scrips worth $36.6 million.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 2.18 percent higher at 20,422.46 points, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite index ended 2.06 percent up at 2,710.51 points.
The Japanese Nikkei shut shop 2.18 percent up at 10,620.55 points. The South Korean Kospi too closed higher at 1,694.58 points, up 1.9 percent.
In Europe, Britain’s key index FTSE 100 was ruling 0.61 percent up at 5,416.26 points.
The French CAC 40 too was trading 0.21 percent higher at 3,741.63 points and the German DAX was at 6,235.54 points, up 0.84 percent.