Sensex edges higher as blue-chips rise, Nifty marginally up

IT, teck, healthcare and consumer durables indices were in the green.

New Delhi: The BSE Sensex advanced nearly 75 points in early morning trade on Wednesday, spurred by a fresh spell of buying in select blue-chip stocks like Infosys, TCS and Sun Pharma amid mixed global cues.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 74.37 points, or 0.21 percent, at 35,564.41. The NSE Nifty added 6.80 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,775.95.

Major gainers were TCS, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys, M&M, Asian paint, Maruti, Reliance, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, Yes Bank, rising by up to 1.38 percent.

DIIs bought shares Rs 238.05 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 538.40 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Asian share markets were under pressure as weakness in Chinese stocks and the yuan weighed on sentiment in the region, while oil climbed as the United States pressured allies to stop buying Iranian crude.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost another 0.3 percent after touching a two-year trough on Tuesday.

Chinese blue chips eased 0.4 percent to be a whisker above 13-month lows as a settlement of Sino-U.S. tensions remained a distant prospect.

Japan`s Nikkei had been faring better but soon succumbed to risk aversion and fell 0.5 percent.

With Agency Inputs