The BSE Sensex rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday to close at its highest in more than a month as blue-chips such as ITC Ltd rose on heavy buying by foreign investors despite expectations of volatility due to derivatives expiry.
The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 0.65 per cent, or 134.52 points, to end at 20,986.99. The broader Nifty rose 0.62 per cent, or 38.75 points, to end at 6,238.80. It closed above the psychologically important 6,200 level for the second day. Both the indexes marked their highest close since January 24 for a third consecutive day.
Cigarette-maker ITC Ltd rose 2.1 per cent, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 1.5 per cent.
Among other blue-chip stocks, HDFC Bank rose 0.9 per cent, while Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd ended 2.2 per cent higher.
