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Equities staged a smart recovery yesterday backed by some sustained buying by foreign funds coupled with speculative purchases by local punters. Despite being the settlement day at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex closed 65.64 points higher at 4042.53 points against Thursday's closing level of 3976.88 points.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) index gained 18.40 points (or 1.61 per cent) to end the day at 1155.05 points against its Thursday close of 1136.65 points. Market sources said that easing of tension at the border improved trading sentiment, pushing up indices. Institutional investors, who had kept away due to escalating tension, were back in the market with a vigour.

Intra-day movement

Sensex opened firm at 4034.36 points and jumped to the day's high of 4064.90 points. It, however, dipped to the day's low of 4027.18 and finally ended firm at 4042.52. The NSE index, on the other hand, touched the day's high 1162 after opening at 1152.85. It later slipped to the day's low of 1149.10 before closing at 1155.05 points.

Broad movements

Following the pivotals, stocks in mid- and small-cap segment surged. CNX Midcap 200 gained 7.02 points to end at 676.73 points against Thursday's close of 669.71 points. The BSE-100 index gained 23.81 points to end the day at 1744.09 points. S&P CNX Defty closed with a