Mumbai, Nov 15 (IANS) Healthy foreign fund inflows along with low crude oil prices and a strengthened rupee guided the key Indian equity indices to close Thursday's trade session on a positive note.
In addition, broadly positive global stock markets enhanced investors' risk-taking appetite.
Sector-wise, healthy buying was witnessed in finance, banking and realty stocks, whereas the BSE Telecom index lost 1.16 per cent, the most among all the 19 sectors on BSE.
Selling pressure in telecom sector was due to the heavy loss reported by country's largest telecom operator, Vodafone Idea, for the quarter ended September.
In its first quarterly results after the merger in August, the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 4,973.8 crore during the July-September period.
Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 118.55 points or 0.34 per cent higher, at 35,260.54 points. It had opened at 35,145.75 points from its previous close of 35,141.99 points.
It touched an intra-day high of 35,402 and a low of 35,118.42.
The NSE Nifty50 closed 40.40 points higher or 0.38 per cent at 10,616.70 points.
"Most Asian shares were trading higher after an improvement in market risk sentiment following British Prime Minister Theresa May's statement that she had obtained enough support for her proposed Brexit deal to move forward," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
According to HDFC Securities' Retail Research Head, Deepak Jasani: "Technically, the short-term trend of Nifty continues to be a choppy, below the key overhead resistance of 10,650. A sustainable move above 10,650 levels could have a further positive impact on the Nifty ahead. Immediate support is now placed at 10,560 levels."
"Major Asian markets have closed on a positive note, barring the Nikkei Index."
The day's gains were attributed to healthy foreign fund inflows which touched a three-month high.
"Healthy buying in FII (Foreign Institutional Investors) had started in debt segment and today a healthy buying was seen in the equity segment owing to the falling crude oil prices and a recovery in rupee," Jasani told IANS.
The provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 2,043.06 crore on Thursday while the domestic institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 165.31 crore.
The healthy fund influx strengthened the Indian rupee to 71.98 to a US dollar from its previous close of 72.31.
Besides, Brent crude oil price remianed subdued at over $66 per barrel.
The top gainers on the Sensex were led by Adani Ports, up 4.19 per cent at Rs 345.30; Kotak Mahindra Banks, up 2.93 per cent at Rs 1,162.65; Hero MotoCorps, up 2.20 per cent at Rs 2,917.20; Axis Bank, up 2.11 per cent at Rs 625.65; and Tata Motors, up 1.78 per cent at Rs 179.95 a share.
Private lender Yes Bank lost the most after its non-executive independent part-time Chairman Ashok Chawla had resigned on Wednesday.
The laggards were Yes Bank, down 7.42 per cent at Rs 206; NTPC, down 2.16 per cent at Rs 153.90; ONGC, down 1.15 per cent at Rs 158.90; SunPharma, down 1.04 per cent at Rs 514.95, and Coal India down 0.96 per cent at Rs 263.05 per share.
