Short-covering lifts markets, Sensex up 149 points (Third Lead)

Positive European indices, coupled with short-covering and attractive prices, buoyed the Indian equity markets on Wednesday.

This led to a barometer index of the Indian equity markets to provisionally close the day's trade with a gain of 149 points.

The upward movement came during the late afternoon session after the index touched a new 52-week low.

Initially, both the bellwether indices of the Indian equity markets made gains due to value buying at lower levels that was prompted by attractive prices.

However, both indices soon ceded their gains due to disappointing macro-economic data points on the country's factory output and retail inflation that were released after market hours on Tuesday.

Besides, anxiety was stoked by the third quarter (Q3) results season that started on Tuesday.

Long-liquidation positions and sliding Chinese markets, too, dented investors' sentiments.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was higher by 149 points, or 0.60 percent.

Similarly, the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day's trade in the green. It was up 48 points or 0.64 percent at 7,558.05 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index, Sensex, of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 24,804.64 points, provisionally closed at 24,830.69 points (at 3.30 p.m.), up 148.66 points or 0.60 percent from the previous day's close at 24,682.03 points.

During the intra-day trade, the Sensex touched a high of 24,956.54 points and a low of 24,387.69 points -- its new low in 52 weeks.

In contrast, the S&P BSE market breadth still favoured the bears -- with 2,155 declines and 649 advances.