Indian equity markets end higher following Asian peers

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) Key Indian equity market indices ended higher on Thursday following strong Asian markets cues.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 28,031.57 points, closed at 28,129.84 points -- higher 145.47 points, or 0.52 per cent over the previous day's close at 27,984.37 points.

It touched a high of 28,212.50 points and a low of 28,031.57 points in the day's trade.

The wider Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed 40.30 points or 0.47 per cent higher at 8,699.40 poi"ts.

"Benchmark indices in India opened in the green and traded with a positive bias through the day, to finally close the day with gains of approximately 0.5 per cent. Overseas markets traded mixed as investors adopted a note of caution ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting later in "he day," said Shreyash Devalkar, Fund Manager - Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

The 100-scrip and 200-scrip indices of the BSE were higher by 0.44 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively. The mid-cap index was higher by 0.06 per cent and small-cap stocks were up by 0.50 per cent.

In Thursday's trade, good buying was observed in banking, metal and finance sectors, while selling pressure was seen in healthcare sector.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index moved up by 1.42 per cent, metal index got augmented by 1.36 per cent and finance index increased by 1.05 per cent. However, healthcare index fell by 0.35 per cent.

The major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: Adani Ports, up 5.10 per cent at Rs 285.20; ICICI Bank, up 4.72 per cent at Rs 277.50; State Bank of India, up 2.02 per cent at Rs 259.95; and HDFC, up 1.26 per cent at Rs 1,359.05.

The losers were: Lupin, down 0.68 per cent at Rs 1501.80; Hindustan Unilever, down 0.64 per cent at Rs 840.55; Tata Motors, down 0.54 per cent at Rs 547.30; and Sun Pharma, down 0.49 per cent at Rs 746.70.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei ended lower by 0.23 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng higher by 0.30 per cent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index ended flat.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 ended flat, France's CAC 40 was up by 0.20 per cent and Germany's DAX Index was up by 0.23 per cent at the closing of the Indian markets.