Sensex rises over 140 points to close at 60,806; Nifty tests 17,900

PTI

Mumbai, February 9

Rising for the second straight session, equity benchmark Sensex climbed 142 points on Thursday following buying in IT and finance stocks amid a higher opening in European markets.

After a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 142.43 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 60,806.22. During the day, the index witnessed a high of 60,863.63 and a low of 60,472.81.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 21.75 points or 0.12 per cent to finish at 17,893.45.

Bajaj Finserv topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, rising 2.30 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, L&T and TCS.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.03 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge slipped 0.01 per cent and the smallcap index dipped 0.15 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Tokyo settled in the red.

However, equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in the afternoon session.

Wall Street had ended lower in the overnight session.

The rupee closed flat at 82.54 against the US dollar on Thursday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.29 per cent higher at USD 85.34 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 736.82 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.