Sensex edges up on foreign buying

The BSE Sensex edged higher on Monday, as blue-chips gained on continued foreign inflows despite last week's decision by the US Federal Reserve to start reducing its bond purchases, although a fall in Infosys capped broader gains.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought a net of $492.4 million in cash shares in the previous two trading sessions, according to exchange and regulatory data, even after the Fed announced on Wednesday it was trimming monthly bond purchases by $10 billion.

Foreign buying has helped calm nerves in a market that has come to depend on these flows, as overseas funds have net-invested $19.9 billion so far this year.

"The uncertainty around the QE taper is behind us and the market has digested that news, and compared to other emerging markets, India is definitely well poised to attract incremental FII flows," said S Krishna Kumar, head of equity at Sundaram Mutual Fund.

The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex resumed stable and moved in a range of about 150 points before settling at 21,101.03, a rise of 21.31 points or 0.10 per cent. Last Friday, it had spurted by 371.10 points or 1.79 per cent. The 50-share CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange edged up 10.25 points or 0.16 per cent to 6,284.50.