Closing Bell: 7-day falling streak comes to an end as Sensex recovers 123 points

Markets ended 7-day streak today as the BSE Sensex recovered by almost 123 points over buying by domestic investors in banking, pharma, metal and realty stocks. 

In morning session, after a steady start Sensex dipped quickly into red and hit a low of 31,081.83 as foreign funds continued to withdraw capital. 

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended up 33.20 points, or 0.34%, at 9,768.95 points. Intra-day, it shuttled between 9,687.55 and 9,789.20. Since it was the last session for September derivatives contracts, speculators went about covering their short positions towards the close which accelerated the pace of recovery.

A mixed trend in Asia and a higher opening in Europe after the US stocks recovered following sweeping tax reforms plan unveiled by President Donald Trump influenced sentiment here. The rupee appreciated 22 paise intra-day against the dollar, to 65.50, which had a positive influence too, brokers said. 

Sharp gain in the last hour of trade helped the market post gains of one third of a percent, with the Nifty managed to end above 9750-mark.

Except the energy, all sectoral indices traded positive, while midcaps ended with half a percent gains.