After dull trading, the BSE Sensex spurted in late buying to close with gains for the second successive day on Thursday — up 123 points at 17,830.75 — on sustained FII inflows as European markets firmed ahead of a decision to ease euro-zone debt crisis, especially in Greece.
Gains were led by metals, realty, auto, banking, consumer durables, power and IT stocks. Small-cap and mid-cap equities were also in good demand. However, refinery, capital goods and healthcare counters saw declines.
“Sudden buying momentum was seen during the afternoon session as positive openings in European markets aided investor sentiments,” said Shanu Goel, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.
Global developments will continue to play crucial role in the next few sessions and a cautious approach is recommended as the stock market has become highly volatile, she added.
The BSE 30-scrip Sensex opened lower and moved between 17,879.46 and 17,609.43. Finally, it ended the day at 17,830.75, up 123.43 points or 0.70 per cent.
The NSE 50-share index Nifty gained 44.20 points or 0.82 per cent to finish at 5,412.35.
FIIs bought shares worth Rs 384.24 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. They have picked up shares worth Rs 6,692.01 crore in first six trading sessions this month.
Asian stocks ended mixed. Key indices in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore eased by up to 0.15 per cent, while those in China, South Korea and Taiwan gained up to 0.54 per cent.
In Europe, key markets -- CAC (France), DAX (Germany) and FTSE (the UK) -- were up nearly one per cent in the afternoon trade.
