Sensex slips from day's high, ends 145 points up

Mumbai: A key index of Indian equities markets slipped from the day's highs Tuesday to end trade 145 points in the green.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened marginally higher at 16,805.22 points against Friday's close at 16,741.3 points, shut shop at 16,886.43 points, up 145.13 points or 0.87 percent. The chart showing the 52 week performance of Sensex is on the left.

The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended marginally in the green at 5,020.20 points, up 0.89 percent.

Broader market indices also ended in the positive terrain, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.74 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index up 1.05 percent.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,605 stocks advancing, 1,176 declining and 81 remaining unchanged.

Among the gainers on the Sensex were HDFC, up 5.3 percent at Rs.2,667.40; TCS, up 2.92 percent at Rs.600.85; Tata Motors, up 2.6percent at Rs.614.50, and ITC, up 2.59 percent at Rs.233.30.

Among the top losers was Bharti Airtel, down 3.28 percent at Rs.428.10 following reports that the company may have to sweeten its offer for South African telecom company MTN.

According to reports, Bharti has offered MTN a 27 percent of its stake for the same money instead of the 25 percent proposed earlier.

Others on the losers' list were Jaiprakash Associates, down 2.67 percent; Hindalco, down 0.58 percent at Rs.136.90, and ONGC, down 0.47 percent at Rs.1,155.45.

Asian markets ended mixed.

The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 73.26 points or 0.7 percent lower at 10,370.54 points.

At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the benchmark SSE composite ended 2.34 percent down at 2,897.55 points.

However, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, shut shop in the green at 21,701.14 points, up 228.29 points or 1.06 percent.

The Korean Kospi too rose 1.38 percent to close at 1,718.88 points.

European bourses gave support to the Indian markets, having opened firm.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was ruling 50.4 points or 0.98 percent higher at 5,184.76 points, while its French peer, the CAC 40, was up 0.89 percent at 3,845.99 points.

Germany's DAX, too, was ruling in the positive at 5,742.4 points, up 73.75 points or 1.3 percent.