Sensex above 39,000 mark as investors await outcome of general elections

Equity benchmark indices ended Wednesday's session with minor gains amid volatile trade as investors remained cautious on the eve of general elections outcome.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 140 points higher at 39,110 while the Nifty 50 was up 29 points at 11,738.

Among sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange, FMCG, IT and media were in the red while others showed marginal gains.

Among stocks, Jet Airways rallied more than 5 per cent to Rs 158.55 per share on the back of heavy volumes following hopes of the airline's revival.

IndusInd Bank gained 5.5 per cent, Sun Pharma 3.5 per cent, Bajaj Auto 2.5 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation 2.3 per cent and Eicher Motors 1.8 per cent.

But Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) fell as much as 9.4 per cent to Rs 117.65 after the home loan lender said it will halt early withdrawals from existing deposit schemes and stop taking new ones.

Shares of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd slid 6.8 per cent to Rs 152.05 after the company reported net loss of Rs 2,713 crore during the quarter ended March 31.

Tech Mahindra, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Bharti Infratel, Yes Bank and Zee Entertainment were down between 1.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent.

On Monday, the Sensex had touched historic highs following exit polls forecasting an overwhelming majority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the just-concluded general elections.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks also were on shaky ground after the United States' brief relaxation of curbs against China's Huawei Technologies.

Investors, however, remained cautious over the possibility of further escalation of tensions between the world's two largest economies.