Market ends higher for 8th session on late buying

Mumbai: The Sensex managed to close in the positive zone for the eighth straight session on Monday even as Standard and Poor's kept India's sovereign credit rating unchanged.

Unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and positive leads from European markets supported the upward trend.

The broader NSE Nifty too struggled before ending higher.

The 30-share barometer opened a shade lower and stayed in the negative terrain for the most part of the day. But sudden buying in the last one hour of trade saw it close higher by 45.20 points, or 0.13 percent, at 33,724.44.

The index had risen 918.80 points in the past seven sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended flat, up by 9.85 points, or 0.09 percent, at 10,399.55. Intra-day, it hovered between 10,340.20 and 10,407.15.

The uptrend in the previous seven sessions came on the back of Moody's upgrading India's sovereign rating and better-than-estimated earnings by some blue-chip companies.

Initially, sentiment took a hit as investors turned cautious as Standard and Poor's after trading hours on Friday kept its sovereign rating for India unchanged at 'BBB-minus' with 'stable' outlook, citing vulnerabilities stemming from low per capita income and high government debt.

Marked by volatility, power, realty, infrastructure, consumer durables and capital goods stocks saw gains, helping both the key indices to close higher for the eighth straight day, their longest winning run since June 23, 2015.