Sensex pares early losses, Nifty reclaims 18K mark amid mixed global trends

Benchmark Sensex pared early losses to close 242 points higher while Nifty settled above the 18,000-mark on Wednesday following gains in IT, oil and banking stocks amid mixed global trends.

Extending gains for a second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 242.83 points or 0.40 per cent to close at 61,275.09 with 20 of its constituents ending in the green. The index opened lower at 60,990.05 but later regained foot to touch a high of 61,352.55 in day trade.

The broader Nifty of NSE rose by 86 points or 0.48 per cent to settle above the 18,000-mark at 18,015.85, following gains in RIL, Tech Mahindra and Adani Enterprises. 37 of its stocks advanced while 13 declined. Among Sensex stocks, Tech Mahindra rose the most by 5.79 per cent. Index major Reliance Industries spurted 2.22 per cent, while Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, M&M, Nestle Industries, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and Titan also advanced.

Hindustan Unilever fell the most by 1.22 per cent. ITC, Sun Pharma, L&T, HDFC twins and IndusInd Bank were among the major losers. In the broader market, the BSE midcap index advanced 0.69 per cent while the smallcap index rose by 0.36 per cent.