Markets end marginally higher; RIL rallies, Sun Pharma drags

New Delhi: Markets closed marginally higher Friday after a volatile session as better than expected earnings posted by Reliance Industries Ltd helped in gains.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 12.53 points or 0.03 percent at 36,386.61 while the NSE Nifty inched up 1.75 points or 0.02 percent, to 10,906.95.

Reliance Industries was the top gainer on Sensex pack, jumping 4.43 percent, after the company became the first Indian private sector company to report a quarterly profit of more than Rs 10,000 crore in its October-December quarter.

Other gainers included Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, ONGC, Asian Paints, Vedanta, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and TCS, gaining up to 1.41 percent.

Sun Pharma was the top loser, cracking 8.58 percent, on reports of fresh allegations by a whistleblower against the company. Bharti Airtel, L&T, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, ITC, Tata Motors and PowerGrid also fell up to 6.42 percent.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth Rs 842.13 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 727.46 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

With Agency Inputs