Sensex up 129 points, Nifty holds 7,900-level

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex reduced its initial gains, but maintained its up-trend by 129 points, while the broader Nifty at one point reclaimed the 7,900-level on hectic buying in key auto and banking sectors. A heavy bout of value-buying amid hectic short-covering by market players ahead of Thursday's monthly derivatives expiry spurred the key indices. Telecom and metal segments saw profit-booking while the second-line mid-cap and small-cap companies shares lent support.

The BSE Sensex resumed higher at 25,858.52 before quoting 25,967.33 at 1147 hours, up 128.62 points, or 0.52 per cent, from its last close. The 50-share Nifty too climbed 40.85 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 7,901.90 at 1147 hours. NTPC was ruling firm by 2.48 per cent. And so did Tata Motors (2.37 per cent) and ICICI Bank (2.04 per cent).

However, Tata Steel tumbled 1.94 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC and and HDFC Bank. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 112.03 crore last Thursday, as per provisional data. Overseas, Asian markets saw a mixed trend. US stocks closed slightly lower in a truncated trading session last Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of a long weekend.

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