Realty, banking stocks rise, Sensex closes 142 points up (Roundup)

MUMBAI - A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Thursday closed 142 points higher with stocks from the realty and IT sectors leading the gainers’ pack.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,038.66 points, closed at 19,992.7 points, up 142.7 points or 0.72 percent from its previous close at 19,850 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 6,011.7 points, up 0.85 percent.

Broader markets also were in the green, with the BSE midcap index closing 1.07 percent up and the BSE smallcap index ending 1.12 percent higher.

Realty, metals and IT stocks rallied strongly while auto and capital goods scrips saw some profit booking.

Among the gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Com, up 3.32 percent at Rs.141.80; Sterlite Industries, up 3.13 percent at Rs.169.70; Wipro, up 2.57 percent at Rs.425.20; and Tata Motors, up 2.5 percent at Rs.1,320.35.

Major losers included Hero Honda, down 7.27 percent at Rs.1,788.25; NTPC, down 1.77 percent at Rs.183.05; M&M, down 1.45 percent at Rs.789.35, and Bharti Airtel, down 1.42 percent at Rs.346.35.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,882 stocks advancing, compared to 1,033 scrips on the decline, while 134 stocks were unchanged.

Other Asian markets rose, tracking gains in the US markets.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.86 percent higher at 23,448.78 points, while the Shanghai Composite index ended 0.71 percent higher at 2,843.61 points.

The Japanese Nikkei closed 1.81 percent up at 10,168.52 points.

European stocks rose Thursday, with strong economic data boosting confidence amid hopes that the European Central Bank may launch new policy measures to allay concerns about the euro-zone debt crisis.

Around mid-day, Britain’s FTSE 100 ended 0.91 percent up at 5,694.07 points, while the German DAX was 0.36 percent higher at 6,891.3 points.

The French CAC 40 was 0.93 percent up at 3,703.32 points.