Sensex rally continues, rises 83 points on PSU, auto, infra stocks

Mumbai: Bringing up the fifth day of gains, benchmark Sensex rose over 83 points on Wednesday to finish at an over two-week high of 33,561.55, fuelled by infrastructure, PSU and auto stocks.

However, the gains were capped by battered metal and healthcare counters.

Sentiment was bolstered by positive global cues, with Hong Kong stocks breaking the 30,000-barrier for the first time in 10 years as Asian markets extended a global rally following another record close on the Wall Street on strong world growth and rising corporate earnings.

The Sensex opened higher at 33,569.07 and continued its upward march to hit a high of 33,654.53 on unabated buying by participants, particularly domestic investors.

However, profit-booking emerged at higher levels and dragged the index to a low of 33,465.23, before it bounced back to settle at 33,561.55, up 83.20 points, or 0.25 per cent.

This is the benchmark's highest closing since November 6, when it settled at 33,731.19.

The gauge had gained 717.91 points in the previous four sessions as investor risk appetite soared after US-based Moody's last week upgraded India's sovereign credit rating by a notch to 'Baa2'.

The broader Nifty scaled a high of 10,368.70 but finished at 10,342.30, still up 15.40 points, or 0.15 per cent.