Sensex settles 86 points higher, Nifty closes above 11,400

Markets ended in the positive zone on Wednesday, led by gains in index heavyweights amid positive cues from global markets.

The BSE Sensex settled 86.47 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 38,614.79. The NSE Nifty rose 23.05 points or 0.20 per cent to 11,408.40.

Sensex had touched a high of 38,788.51 during the day.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, RIL, Asian Paint, Ultrachem, LT, HDFC and M&M, rising upto 1.91 percent. On the other hand, major losers were Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Nestle, HUL, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserve, TCS, NTPC, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance, falling upto 1.42 percent.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,134.57 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.

Bourses in Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with steady gains in early deals. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.66 per cent lower at USD 45.16 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee settled 6 paise lower at 74.82 against the US dollar.

In the previous session, the BSE Sensex closed 477.54 points or 1.26 per cent higher at 38,528.32, while the NSE Nifty surged 138.25 points or 1.23 per cent to 11,385.35.