Stock markets rise for 3rd session; Sensex gains 169 pts

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty extended their rally for the third straight session on Wednesday amid buying in index major IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and HCL Tech.

However, continuous foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in global equities restricted gains in the market, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 169.87 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 60,300.58. During the day, it jumped 232.08 points or 0.38 per cent to 60,362.79.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 44.35 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 17,813.60.

Among the Sensex firms, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC were the major winners.

Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong ended in the green, while Tokyo and Shanghai settled lower.

Equity markets in Europe were trading in negative territory. The US markets had ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.17 per cent to USD 80.91 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 407.35 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.