Recording a rise for the second consecutive day, benchmark Sensex on Thursday closed up by 53 points at 28,438.91 and the Nifty rose over 18 points to settle at 8,494.20 on fag-end buying in select bluechips, amid expiry of monthly derivative contracts.
Trading was choppy during the day with investors adopting a cautious stance ahead of quarterly GDP data release tomorrow and the much-awaited RBI's policy review next week.Rise in Infosys, HUl, TCS, ICICI Bank, BHEl, M&M, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's and Hindalco mainly drove Sensex higher.Sustained capital inflows amid firm European cues also supported the positive trend, traders said.
Second-line stocks outperformed the Sensex on good buying by retail investors. The BSE-Smallcap and the BSE-Midcap indices rose by 0.55 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively.The BSE 30-share Sensex resumed nearly stable and moved in a range of over 190 points before settling at 28,438.91, a gain of 52.72 points or 0.19 per cent.
The wide-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE rose further by 18.45 points, or 0.22 per cent, to end at 8,494.20."Benchmarks were seen ending marginally on the positive side amid excessive volatility on F&O expiry day. Investors also opted to remain on the sidelines ahead of the release of July-September economic growth data on Friday.... However, losses remained capped as investors were seen buying positions in IT, power and healthcare stocks," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities.
Fall in the global crude oil prices to four-year low also boosted the market sentiment as India imports nearly 80 per cent of its oil requirements.Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors bought shares worth net Rs 181.46 crore on Wednesday as per provisional data.