Sensex ends 86 pts higher; Nifty tops 11,400

Mumbai: Market benchmarks ticked higher for the third straight session on Wednesday, propped up by Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid a bullish trend in global equities.

The BSE Sensex touched a high of 38,788.51 during the day but succumbed to profit-booking at the fag-end of the session. It finally closed at

38,614.79, up 86.47 points or 0.22 per cent.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty rose 23.05 points or 0.20 per cent to 11,408.40.

Market behemoth Reliance Industries climbed 0.68 per cent after announcing acquisition of 60 per cent stake in e-pharmacy Netmeds for Rs 620 crore.

Tech Mahindra was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 1.91 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Maruti, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, RIL and , Asian Paints.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Nestle India, HUL and Kotak Bank were among the laggards, slipping up to 1.42 per cent.

According to traders, domestic bourses followed positive cues from global markets after US equities hit record highs in overnight session.

BSE telecom, realty, industrials, basic materials, utilities and finance indices jumped up to 1.49 per cent, while IT, FMCG, healthcare and teck indices ended in the red.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.66 per cent lower at $45.16 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee settled 6 paise lower at 74.82 against the US dollar.