Surrendering some of its early gains, the BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting higher by 131 points in the late morning deals today, with sustained buying in FMCG, healthcare, metal and realty stocks, amid continued capital inflows.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC hit a record high. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) surged nearly 19 per cent, after the company's foreign parent Unilever PLC offered to acquire 48.70 crore shares, or 22.52 per cent stake, in Hindustan Unilever at Rs 600 each.
The 30-share index resumed higher at 19,492.83 and firmed up further to a high of 19,622.68 before quoting at 19,518.43 at 1030hrs, showing a net gain of 130.93 points, or 0.68 per cent from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also firmed up by 28.85 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 5,932.95 at 1030hrs.
Other gainers were Sterlite Ind (3.60 per cent), Dr Reddy Lab's (1.97 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.85 per cent), ITC (1.43 per cent), Tata Steel (1.42 per cent), Jindal Steel (1.34 per cent) and Coal India (1.31 per cent).
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 620.38 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Most Asian stocks were trading higher in their early trade after US housing sales gained and amid speculation central banks will keep stimulating growth. Key indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea rose by 0.37 per cent to 1.19 per cent while indices in Japan and Indonesia fell by 0.09 per cent to 0.15 per cent.
