Asian stocks ended higher as economic data triggered

optimism for the region's exports and economies. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan were up by 0.40-1.95 per cent. Indications of higher opening in US index futures also boosted the market to some extent. European stocks were trading narrowly mixed with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of a deluge of economic data. Key benchmark indices in UK and Germany moved up by 0.16-0.33 per cent, while France eased by 0.08 per cent. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 181.57 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Turning to the local market, 19 scrips out of 30-share Sensex ended lower while 11 finished with gains today. Besides RIL, other major gainers from the Sensex pack were Sun Pharma (1.37 pc), Hero Motocorp (1.26 pc), Coal India (1.12 pc), Gail India (0.99 pc) and Dr Reddy's Lab (0.90 pc). However, Tata Steel dropped by 1.75 per cent, followed by Jindal Steel (1.47 pc), Cipla (1.32 pc), Bharti Airtel (1.04 pc), SBI (0.98 pc), Tata Motors (0.96 pc) and ICICI Bank (0.94 pc). Among sectoral indices that fell, BSE-Consumer Durable was down by 1.37 per cent and the BSE-Metal dropped 0.61 per cent. The market breadth continued to remain positive as 1,152 scrips ended up while 963 scrips finished lower and 862 counters ruled steady. The total turnover firmed up further to Rs 1,825.23 crore from Rs 1,658.70 crore yesterday.