Sensex gains 172 points on firm Asian cues

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained over 170 points in the morning session today on continued buying by funds and retail investors in IT, PSU, bank and teck sector stocks amid a firming trend in the Asian markets.

At 9.35 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 172.26 points or 0.97 per cent at 17,899.75 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty up 58.6 points or 1.1 per cent at 5,378.60.

Volume toppers during the session were SBI, RIL, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Tata Steel. Major Sensex gainers were Infosys, ICICI Bank, SBI, ONGC, TCS, HDFC, HDFC Bank and L&T. ITC and RIL were the major losers.

Among the sectoral indices, IT was up 1.66 per cent, PSU 1.63 per cent, bankex 1.61 per cent and teck 1.49 per cent. Only consumer durables was down 0.48 per cent. Of the total 1,552 stocks traded, 1,088 advanced, 409 declined and 55 remained unchanged.

PTI reports:

During the opening session, the Sensex, which gained 176.86 points in yesterday’s trade, moved up further by 184.83 points to 17,912.32. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index spurted by 55.95 points to 5,375.95.

Brokers attributed the rise in stock prices to increased buying by funds and retail investors, triggered by a firming trend in other Asian bourses.

In addition, covering-up of short positions in view of approaching monthly expiry in the derivatives segment on the NSE also influenced the market sentiment.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index gained 0.36 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.48 per cent in the early trade.