The inflow of foreign funds, coupled with rupee appreciation and positive Asian indices yesterday pushed the Indian equities to their highest levels in around three months.
Besides, hopes of incentives in the upcoming Union budget kept investors’ sentiments buoyed.
The key indices closed the day’s trade in the green – with gains of 0.63%, although some gains were pared on the back of profit booking.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 38.50 points or 0.45%, to close at a 12-week high of 8,641.25 points.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 27,761.03 points, closed at 27,882.46 points – up 174.32 points or 0.63% from the previous close at 27,708.14 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 27,980.39 points and a low of 27,759.48 points during the intra-day trade.
In contrast, the BSE market breadth was marginally tilted in favour of the bears – with 1,411 declines and 1,376 advances.
In terms of the broader markets, the BSE mid-cap index rose by 0.64%, while the BSE small-cap index was up 0.53%.
On Wednesday, the NSE Nifty rose by 126.95 points or 1.50%, to close at 8,602.75 points, while the BSE Sensex was up 332.56 points or 1.21%.
“Carrying on from the previous session, markets continued to rally strongly for the fourth consecutive session, with the Nifty closing at a 12-week high,” Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities, told IANS.
In addition, the Indian rupee strengthened by four paise to 68.04 against a US dollar from its previous close of 68.08 to a greenback.
