The Sensex surged to a high of 18,626 in closing trades on the back of fresh buying in realty, oil & gas and auto stocks. The Sensex traded in the green through the day, on positive cues from Asian peers, finally ending at 18,596 - up 184 points. In the process, the index reversed its three-day losing streak, wherein the BSE benchmark index had declined 666 points.
The NSE Nifty settled 59 points higher at 5,585.
Asian markets moved up in trades after foreign players covered short positions after steep losses a day ago. Nikkei was up 0.4% on gains in brokerage shares. Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite added 1.5% each. European markets were in the green as well, and the US futures too showed promise ahead.
The broader markets gained in-line with the benchmark. BSE mid-cap index was up 1.3% at 6,988 while small-cap index advanced 1% at 8,341.
The BSE realty, oil & gas and auto indices were the major movers in trade today. The indices moved up around 1.6% each. Meanwhile, IT stocks remained weak after heavyweight, Infosys, reported lower-than-expected guidance for FY12. The index ended marginally lower at 5,922.
IT giant Infosys slipped 0.4% at Rs 2,784 after reporting Q1 numbers on Tuesday. Other IT Heavyweight, TCS is set to announce numbers tomorrow, along with auto major, Bajaj Auto. TCS ended flat at Rs 1,151. Bajaj Auto managed to gain 1.6% at 1,449.
"IT stocks are looking weak in the medium term out look and i dont expect anything positive going forward in next two quaters and Infosys looks the weakest for a target of 2300," said Somil Mehta, Sr Technical Analyst (Equity), Sharekhan.
Among other news, the long-awaited Rs 11,500 crore share sale of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been deferred again and is unlikely to hit the market before mid-August. Post-FPO, the government's stake in ONGC would come down to 69.14% from the current 74.14%. The stock was up 2% at Rs 287.
Bank stocks gained on bargain hunting following a decline in the last few days owing to fears about the spread of Europe's debt crisis. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, Federal Bank, SBI and IndusInd Bank made up the gainers list.
Among other sectors, sugar and tea stocks witnessed fresh buying with the likes of Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini, Shree Renuka Sugars and Dwarikesh Sugars up 2-5% each. Tata Global, McLeod Russel, Assam Company, Bombay Burmah and Assam Tea were some of the tea stocks which ended with notable gains.
Corporate numbers buoyed some stocks. Bajaj Finance has rallied 9% to Rs 686 after reporting a 94% y-o-y jump in net profit to Rs 90.81 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011.
Pharma stocks, Dr Reddy's and Glenmark rose on USFDA nod for key generics. Dr Reddy's advanced 3.2% , while Glenmark went up 3.5%.
SKS Microfinance halted it's four-day rally and ended down 10% at its lower circuit of Rs 529. The stock has rallied almost 94% from its intra-day low of Rs 314 on July 7, after the government proposed a law that would empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate the microfinance sector.
BSE market breadth was fairly positive. Out of 3,010 stocks traded, 1,858 advanced while 1,013 declined in trades.