Sensex up 146 points; extends gains for 4th day on value-buying

Markets continued their upward march for the fourth straight session on Wednesday with the benchmark BSE Sensex rising 146 points to 26,832.66 driven by rally in Cipla, HUL and RIL amid above-normal progress in monsoon.

The 30-share index resumed on a positive note at 26,815.41 and climbed to intra-day high of 26,983.48 as investors indulged in cornering recently beaten-down stocks. 

However, it shed some gains on emergence of profit-booking towards the fag-end as participants turned cautious ahead of outcome of the US Federal meet later in the day and settled at 26,832.66, up 146.15 points or 0.55%. 

In four sessions, the index has gained 461.68 points. The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty breached the 8,100-mark to hit session's high of 8,136.85. It finally settled at 8,091.55, up by 44.25 points or 0.55%. 

Brokers said sentiments remained upbeat as monsoon rains have been above-normal till now and the country's trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low in May. 

In addition, CBDT yesterday said the taxmen will not resort to coercive methods to recover dues towards Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on capital gains made by FIIs supported the rally, they said. 

Despite ongoing winning-run, foreign investors have been net sellers on the bourses in the past few sessions. They sold shares worth Rs 521.65 crore yesterday. 

Sectorally, consumer durables rose the most by surging 2.26%, followed by healthcare 1.62%, FMCG 1.46%, capital goods 1.11%, auto 0.81%, metal 0.78% and oil&gas 0.46%.

Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 19 ended with gains. Stocks of Reliance Industries maintained winning run for the fourth straight session and gathered another 3 per cent on continued optimism over the company's plans to start
4G phone services later this year. 

Midcap index rose 1.44% and smallcap index gained 1.33%. 

Globally, other Asian markets closed lower, while European stocks were down in their early trade.