Sensex edges higher up 24 points

Snapping a two-day losing string, the Sensex on Tuesday advanced 24 points on buying in refinery stocks, spurred by lower oil prices.

In choppy trade, the BSE benchmark index traded in a 130-point range before closing at 16,906.58, up 24.42 points. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, advanced 6.15 points, 0.12 per cent to 5,120.80. Shares of refinery, power, PSU and healthcare sectors firmed up while consumer durables and FMCG stocks declined.

Brokers said refinery stocks attracted investor interest as the fall in crude oil prices might help ease the burden of selling fuels at subsidised rates. Reliance Industries rose 1.05 per cent, Oil India gained 1.50 per cent and HPCL jumped 2.36 per cent. In London, Brent crude for August delivery was trading at $91.43 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The market breadth continued to remain positive, as 1,383 shares ended with gains while 1,355 finished with losses.

Globally, the trends in Asian markets were negative, with indices in China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea declining. European shares were trading marginally higher as key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up by 0.05 per cent to 0.11 per cent.