Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex advanced by 79 points in the late morning trade on fresh buying mainly in capital goods, power, metal, consumer durables and IT sectors on the back of higher Asian cues despite capital outflows from funds.
The Sensex resumed higher at 18,876.68 and hovered in a range of 18,966.30 and 18,820.90 before quoting at 18,940.09 at 1040 hrs, showing a net gain of 78.55 points of 0.42 percent from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 26.05 points or 0.46 percent to 5,719.10 at 1040 hrs.
Major gainers were Jindal Steel (3.10 pct), Maruti Suzuki (2.53 pct), Coal India (2.18 pct), Larsen (2.14 pct), Tata Power (1.74 pct), Wipro (1.74 pct), ICICI Bank (1.61 pct) and HDFC (1.33 pct).
Most Asian stocks rose in the early trade. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore were up 0.03 pct to 0.68 pct while indices in China, Hong Kong and Indonesia fell by 0.02 pct to 0.54 pct. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,317.79 crore yesterday as per provisional data from stock exchanges.
US stocks ended with small losses yesterday, as mixed economic data dampened sentiment on Wall Street.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 01, 2013, 09:58