Sensex ends in green on IT push

The BSE Sensex ended with modest gains today, propelled by a late burst of buying in technology and pharma stocks.

Index heavyweight TCS spurted 2.75 per cent after the company's board approved a Rs 16,000-crore share buyback plan.

The 30-share Sensex, which had lost 139.34 points in the previous session, resumed higher at 35,656.26 and advanced to 35,675.20 in early trade.

But selling pressure emerged in sync with a mixed trend at other Asian markets and sustained foreign fund outflows, which dragged the gauge to a low of 35,419.68.

However, fag-end buying helped the index close at 35,622.14 -- a marginal rise of 22.32 points, or 0.06 per cent.

The NSE Nifty which dipped below the key 10,800-mark to touch a low of 10,755.40, bounced back on late buying to close 9.65 points, or 0.09 per cent higher at 10,817.70.

The benchmarks ended with gains for the fourth week in a row. The Sensex advanced 178.47 points, or 0.50 per cent while the Nifty climbed 50.05 points or 0.46 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 576.19 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,372.84 crore yestrerday, as per provisional data.