Mumbai: "Indian markets took heart from weather forecasts pointing to higher potential for an above normal rainfall this season, but the shortened nature of the week kept buyers in two minds," said Anand James Chief Market Strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas.
Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 23 scrips ended higher. Major gainers were GAIL (3.87 pc), Maruti Suzuki (2.82 pc), Hero MotoCorp (2.47 pc), Tata Motors (2.40 pc), Adani Ports (1.92 pc), Dr Reddy's (1.79 pct, ICICI Bank (1.71 pc), Bajaj Auto (1.53 pc), ONGC (1.37 pc), Lupin (1.20 pc), HDFC (0.92 pct) and HUL (0.86 pc), while Coal India lost 2.28 per cent, followed by Tata Steel (2.11 pc), ITC (1.18 pc) and HDFC Bank (0.55 pc).
Among major indices, auto rose by 1.61 per cent followed by Industrials 1.43 per cent, Oil&Gas 1.21 per cent, Utilities 1.03 per cent, Healthcare 1.00 per cent, consumer durables 0.74 per cent and capital goods 0.69 per cent, while metal fell by 1.38 per cent.
The market breadth remained positive as 1,519 stocks ended higher, 1,101 closed lower, while 125 ruled steady. The total turnover fell to Rs 2,466.46 crore from Rs 3,856.05 crore yesterday. Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 107.23 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
