The benchmark BSE Sensex opened 208 points higher on Wednesday, snapping its three-day falling streak, as investors and domestic institutions widened their bets amid firm Asian cues.
Short-covering by speculators ahead of February F&O expiry on February 22 added to the upward move.
NSE Nifty also reclaimed the 10,400-mark rising 65.70 points, or 0.63%, to 10,426.10.
The BSE 30-share barometer gained 207.77 points, or 0.61%, to 33,911.36. The gauge had lost 593.88 points in the previous three sessions.
Sectoral indices led by IT, Teck, consumer durables and realty stocks were in the green, rising up to 0.91%.
Major gainers were Dr Reddy’s, TCS, Infosys, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Wipro and RIL, gaining up to 1.61%.
Meanwhile, Coal India dropped 1.4% in early trade on government decision to open the coal sector to private players.
Gitanjali Gems remained weak and cracked another 9.85%, while Punjab National Bank traded higher by 1.24% in early deals.
Brokers said fresh buying in select blue chip stocks, coupled with covering-up of outstanding short positions ahead of the February F&O expiry on February 22, had a positive impact on the market.
Sustained buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs)and a firm trend in other Asian bourses with investors awaiting the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later on February 21 too influenced sentiments, they said.
On a net basis, DIIs bought shares worth ₹1,437.24 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth ₹850.35 crore on February 20, as per provisional data released by stock exchanges.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.15% and Japan’s Nikkei up 0.64% in early trade, while Shanghai Composite index remained shut on February 21.
The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 1.01% in Tuesday’s trade.
