Sensex, Nifty end higher; metal, tech stocks gain

The BSE Sensex and Nifty edged higher on Friday, but continued to stay away from their record highs hit early in the week. Investors booked profits in some recent outperformers such as ONGC while buying into relative underperformers such as Tata Motors.

Both the Nifty and the Sensex hit record highs on Tuesday, bolstered by continued buying from foreign investors, with net purchases of $117.87 million on Thursday, their 23rd buying session in the previous 24.

"We are cautiously optimistic in the near term. The undercurrent is positive, but profit-taking is expected in select sectors and stocks. We will continue to see sectoral rotations-like that we saw in IT," said Deven Choksey, Managing Director at KR Choksey Securities."We may see fresh positions building up after the monthly derivatives contract expiry, in the coming week."

Sensex closed at 0.06 per cent higher at 21,753.75 and Nifty closed 0.16 percent higher at 6,493.2. Relative underperformers in the recent rally continued to gain, with Tata Motors Ltd  up 2.5 percent after falling 8.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd rose by 0.9 per cent. Shares had also fallen by 7.4 per cent in March. Axis Bank Ltd  rose by 2.7 per cent. Blue chips broadly recovered from Thursday's fall, with State Bank of India up 1.44 per cent, after losing 1.81 per cent in the pervious session.