Mumbai, July 14 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities Wednesday crawled up about 80 points in afternoon trade on strong cues from other Asian markets.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE),
had risen to 18,167.22 points in morning trade but slipped a tad in subsequent sessions, with heavyweight Infosys dragging the index.
The Sensex, which opened at 18,024.95 points, was ruling at 18,065.31 points, 79.41 points or 0.44 percent up from its previous close at 17,985.9 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,422.35 points, up 0.4 percent from its previous close at 5,400.65 points.
Broader markets indices were quiet, with the BSE midcap index 0.22 percent up and the BSE smallcap index 0.49 percent higher.
Consumer durables, capital goods and banking stocks were among the major gainers, while IT and telecom scrips were under selling pressure.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,573 scrips advancing, compared to 1,291 stocks declining, and 105 remaining unchanged.
Other major Asian markets were also on the rise, helped by a strong start to the US earnings season Tuesday.
The Japanese Nikkei closed 2.71 percent higher at 9,795.24 points with technology scrips rallying after chipmaker Intel’s results beat market expectations.
The South Korean Kospi ended 1.32 percent up at 1,758.01 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng too was in the green at 20,535.13 points, up 0.51 percent, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite index closed 0.82 percent higher at 2,470.44 points.
