The BSE benchmark Sensex was up by 155 points in late morning trade on Friday, on the back of renewed buying interest, particularly from foreign funds, in select counters.
The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer resumed higher at 16,963.67 and hovered in a range between 16,989.86 and 16,704.71 before quoting at 16,831.84 at 1130 hours, translating into a net gain of 155.09 points, or 0.93 per cent, from its close on Tuesday.
The NSE’s 50-share Nifty index also moved up by 43.15 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 5,044.15 at 1130 hours.
The market was closed on Wednesday in observance of ’Ramzan Eid’ and on Thursday for the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival.
Oil and gas, metal, consumer durables, realty, auto and capital goods stocks were the major contributors to the Sensex’s rise today.
The most-weighted firm in the 30-share Sensex pack, Reliance Industries (RIL), extended its recent gains in early trade today. Most auto stocks also rose in reaction to higher monthly sales in August.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs. 620.90 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs. 101.91 crore during the day.
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 bluechips registered gains vis-a-vis their previous close, while the others declined. The major gainers in early trade were Sterlite Industries (up 4.16 per cent), Reliance Industries (2.94 per cent), M&M (2.84 per cent), Hindalco Industries (2.56 per cent) and Sun Pharma (2.28 per cent).
