BSE Sensex near five-week high on strong fund inflow

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex gains 0.47 percent while Nifty up 0.38 percent, touching the highest intra-day level since January 24.

Gains supported by consistent foreign fund inflow as overseas investors have been net buyers of cash shares in each of the previous 10 sessions, with inflows totalling around $600 million, exchange and regulatory data show.

Pharmaceutical companies leading the gains with Dr Reddy's Laboratories up 2.02 percent, Cipla up 2.29 percent and Sun Pharmaceutical industries gaining 2.02 percent.

However, gains were limited after investors sold shares of Maruti Suzuki , which fell as much as 5.5 percent, as doubts persist about the impact of the automaker's plan to source cars from a plant to be built by its parent Suzuki Motor Co.

Shares in Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Jaiprakash Associated surge on market expectations that it could soon strike a $2-billion deal to sell two power plants to a group led by Abu Dhabi National Energy .

(Reporting by Indulal P)