Sensex gains 51 points to close at 27,308

Mumbai: Equities advanced for a second day as the benchmark Sensex climbed nearly 51 points to close at 27,308.60 on across-the-board buying, led by oil and gas and PSU stocks, in line with a firming global trend amid buying by foreign as well as domestic financial institutions.

Moreover, better-than-expected earnings by some companies too buoyed sentiments. Shares of Yes Bank surged 0.06 per cent to close at Rs 1,347.15 after the company posted a rise of 30.6 per cent in net profit at Rs 882.63 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2016, while Axis Bank fell 0.95 per cent to Rs 483.70 ahead of its quarterly results later in the day.

Sentiments remained firm as buying picked up momentum after the Cabinet gave approval to Alternative Mechanism, who would decide on the quantum of disinvestment in a particular Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSE) on a case-by-ase basis, subject to government retaining 51 per cent equity and management control, brokers said.

Besides, a mixed closing in other Asian markets and a similar opening on European bourses, too influenced sentiments here, they added. The 30-share Sensex, after shuttling between 27,348.19 and 27,219.89, finally settled 50.96 points, or 0.19 per cent up at 27,308.60. The gauge had gained 21.98 points yesterday.

The NSE 50-share also gained 18.10 points or 0.22 per cent to close at 8,435.10 after moving between 8,445.15 and 8,404.05. GAIL dazzled before closing at Rs 462.70, up 5.31 per cent, followed by PowerGrid which rose 1.79 per cent to Rs 202.

Gains in ONGC, Tata Motors, ITC Ltd, Adaniports, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, SBI and RIL, too supported the upside.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 319.14 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Among the 30-Sensex constituents, 14 stocks ended with gains while 16 led by Lupin, Sun Pharma, Wipro, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, Hind Unilever, Dr Reddy's, M&M, L&T, Cipla and Bajaj Auto fell and restricted the gains.

Sector-wise, BSE oil & gas index gained most by rising 2.03 per cent, followed by PSU (1 pc), consumer durables (0.89 pc), power (0.81 pc) and auto (0.52 pc). The broader markets too continued to trend firm as retail investors widened their bets with the BSE mid-cap index rising 0.41 per cent and small-cap gaining 0.33 per cent.

Globally, Asian markets, including Japan's Nikkei rose 0.94 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.21 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.31 per cent. European markets were higher in their early deals ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting. Key indices such as London's FTSE rose 0.33 per cent, Paris CAC 40 was up 0.15 per cent while Frankfurt was up 0.08 per cent.