Sensex advances for 2nd straight session, up 158 points

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended higher for the 2nd straight session, gaining 158 points on the back of an increase in exports and expectations of additional measures to support the rupee.
Sustained buying mainly in metal, FMCG, pharma, capital goods, PSU and consumer durable sectors helped the index clock its biggest daily gain since July 18 (179.68 points).
The 30-share Sensex opened higher at 18,898.94 and hovered between 18,796.01 and 19,066.97 before ending at 18,946.98, a gain of 157.64 points or 0.84 per cent. The index has added 282.10 points, or 1.51 per cent, in the past two sessions.

The 50-share Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange moved up by 46.75 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 5,612.40. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX, closed at 11,258.94, up 105.09, or 0.94 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, S&P BSE Metal was the biggest gainer, climbing 4.52 per cent. The S&P BSE Bankex, which dropped 1.07 per cent, was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices.
State Bank of India (SBI) fell 3.41 per cent to Rs 1,604.80 at the close on the BSE after first-quarter profit declined.

"Banks were in pressure and unaffected by general buoyancy in other sectors such as metals, FMCG and IT," said Milan Bavishi, head of research at Inventure Growth and Securities. "Banking major SBI reported its Q1 numbers, which were down by 13.6 per cent year on year."

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said it would auction Rs 22,000 crore of bonds every Monday as an additional measure to drain cash from the financial system and check speculation in the forex market.
On Saturday, top finance ministry officials worked to firm up more steps to arrest the sliding rupee and contain the current account deficit as they continued discussions initiated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram a day earlier.
Commerce Secretary S R Rao said exports grew 11.64 per cent to USD 25.83 billion in July, while imports declined 6.2 per cent to USD 38.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 12.2 billion.