Sensex rises 193 points, ends in the green

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Indian equities markets closed higher Wednesday after being in the red for a major part of the day as investors bought lower valued realty, IT and oil and gas stocks.

A key index closed almost 2 percent higher than its previous close, with gains being seen across a number of stocks and sectors.

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The 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex), which opened at 9,745.77 points, rose 193.49 points or 1.99 percent to close at 9,901.99 points.

Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 1.47 percent from its last close to end trade at 3,065.45 points.

The BSE midcap index gained 1.88 percent, while the BSE smallcap index was up 2.87 percent.

All the 13 sectoral indices on the exchange turned positive, with the indices for realty, IT and oil and gas stocks generating interest among traders owing to their low valuations.

Among the gainers on the 30-scrip composite Sensex were Ranbaxy Laboratories, up 7.73 percent at Rs.178.40; HDFC, up 6.7 percent at Rs.1,505.80; Reliance Infra, up 6.64 percent at Rs.549.55; and DLF, up 5.68 percent at Rs.176.70.

Among the losers were Sun Pharma, down 4.23 percent at Rs.1,065.30; BHEL, down 2.15 percent at Rs.1,472.05; Grasim, down 1.99 percent at Rs.1,545.10; and Bharti Airtel, down 1.72 percent at Rs.615.05.

The overall market sentiment was positive, with 1,823 stocks advancing, 558 scrips declining and 82 remaining unchanged.

In other Asian markets, Tokyo stocks ended in the green with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closing at 8,351.91 points, 242.38 points higher than its previous close.

The Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ended trade 0.42 percent in the red, 56.48 points lower at 13,519.54 points.

European markets, which came online before Indian bourses ended trade, turned red with the FTSE in Britain trading 0.62 percent lower than its previous close and its French peer CAC 40 falling 1.3 percent.