Sensex closes at 1-week high

The BSE Sensex rose for a consecutive session on Tuesday to its highest close in a week, as blue-chips such as Reliance Industries gained after foreign investors snapped a five-day selling streak in index futures.

Foreign investors bought index futures worth Rs 86 crore on Monday, snapping five days of sales totalling Rs 243 crore that had raised fears of reduced foreign buying in future. Gains also tracked higher Asian rivals after an indicator of the services sector rose at its fastest pace in eight months, easily topping forecasts and raising hopes about the US economy.

In India, however, the HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index compiled by Markit, rose to 48.5 in April from 47.5 in March but held stubbornly below the 50-mark that divides growth from contraction. Still, analysts cautioned against broad gains ahead of election results on May 16, with shares coming off the record highs hit late last month.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 0.28 per cent, or 63.30 points, to end at 22,508.42, while the broader Nifty rose 0.24 per cent, or 15.95 points, to end at 6,715.30.

Both indexes marked their highest close since April 28.

Reliance Industries rose 1.7 per cent, while ICICI Bank ended 1.9 per cent higher.

Among other blue-chips, ITC rose 0.9 per cent while Larsen & Toubro gained 1.3 per cent. Piramal Enterprises surged 3.1 per cent after the contractor for drug research and manufacturing services on Monday announced a dividend of Rs 52.50 per share when reporting January-March results.