The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark, the Sensex, closed above the 17,000-mark to a 10-week high of 17,077.2, up 81 points on sustained buying, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shifted focus to pushing growth from taming inflation, and investors settled this month’s derivative contracts amid strong overseas markets.
Metals, PSU, technology, auto, consumer durables and information technology stocks attracted good buying, with 12 of the 13 sectoral indices gaining. Only BSE Capital Goods finished in the red after yesterday's gains.
Firm cues from the Asian markets aided the sentiment, though weak European equities weighed down the market. In the last five sessions, Sensex has moved up by 625.7 points, or 3.8 per cent, with foreign institutional investors pumping in $1 billion so far this month.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty also gained 30.95 points, or 0.60 per cent, to end at more than 10-week high of 5,158.3.
Key indices in Japan, Singapore and South Korea gained up to 1.48 per cent.