Markets eke out slim gains; Nifty closes at new high

Mumbai: Equity indices resumed their climb on Tuesday after a day's pause following gains in IT, bank and engineering stocks amid a muted trend overseas.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 69.33 points or 0.12 per cent higher at 58,247.09. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 24.70 points or 0.14 per cent to its fresh closing record of 17,380.

IndusInd Bank topped the Sensex gainers chart with a jump of 4.07 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Titan and TCS.

In contrast, HDFC, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, HUL, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were among the prominent laggards, shedding up to 1.07 per cent. Sectorally, BSE utilities, consumer discretionary goods, auto, teck and consumer durables rose as much as 1.64 per cent, while metal, FMCG, energy and basic materials finished lower. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmarks, spurting up to 1.09 per cent.

Global equities were steady ahead of US inflation data, which would provide clues on the Fed's tapering timeline.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul and Tokyo closed in the positive territory, while Hong Kong and Shanghai ended in the red. Equities in Europe were trading mixed in the afternoon session. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,419.31 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange

data.