Cutting short its two days of losing streak, the benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rose by 122 points on buying in metal, oil & gas and banking stocks amid encouraging trends in global bourses.
The bellwether Sensex on BSE ended at 13,692.52, a rise of 122.21 points, or 0.90 per cent, from its last close.
The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also gained 34.35 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 4,161.25
Marketmen said retail investors and operators covered their pending positions ahead of the expiry of derivatives contract on September 25, helping the 30-share Sensex to settle in positive territory.
Metal counters saw briks buying before ending the day higher by 2.19 per cent-- the highest among all sectoral indices today-- mainly helped by Sterlite Industries which closed up by a handsome 8.36 per cent.
Marketmen credited the surge in Sterlite to its parent Vedanta Group's decision to defer restructuring plans due to the global financial turmoil. Sterlite spurted by a hefty 15 per cent during intra-day.
While banking and oil& gas share also rose by 1.22 per cent and 1.21 per cent respectively, IT scrips remained under pressure with its sectoral index losing1 1.10 per cent. Consumer durables also ended lower by 1.23 per cent.
{{/usCountry}}While banking and oil& gas share also rose by 1.22 per cent and 1.21 per cent respectively, IT scrips remained under pressure with its sectoral index losing1 1.10 per cent. Consumer durables also ended lower by 1.23 per cent.
{{/usCountry}}Among the Sensex stocks, HDFC Bank at 3.57 per cent was the next best gainer after Sterlite Industries. Tata Steel too closed higher by 3.13 per cent. Reliance Infrastructure and Grasim Industries also figured among the prominent gainer by posting over 2 per cent gain each.
Wipro was the worst loser at 5.05 per cent, followed by Tata Motors at 1.55 per cent. Other blue-chip stocks in IT counters --Infosys and TCS-- remained under pressure and closed lower over 1 per cent.