Mumbai. The main Sensex and Nifty indices closed higher on Tuesday due to buying shares in the information technology, energy and utilities segment. During this period, the 30-stock BSE Sensex rose 159.40 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 63,327.70 points. The Sensex remained in the red for most of the day, at one point hitting a low of 62,801.91. However, the Market had a strong recovery at the end of the session.

The Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange closed at 18,816.70, an increase of 61.25 points or 0.33 percent. Significant gains in Sensex shares were Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, Nestlé, TCS and Infosys.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank and SBI fell. In other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei closed higher, while South Korea’s Cospi, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hangseng posted losses. Most of the markets in Europe had a downtrend in afternoon trading. US markets were closed on Monday.

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Indian markets started with a cautious stance on weak global signals. Concerns about the economy arose after China cut interest rates after a 10-month pause. Fears of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve also added to the concern.

However, the market corrected sharply thanks to the purchase of IT and car shares, he added. Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President (Technical Research), Religare Broking Ltd. said markets closed higher on volatile trading. He said financial, IT and auto stocks rose, while pharmaceutical and consumer goods stocks fell. In the broader market, BSE Midcap gained 0.47 percent and Smallcap 0.40 percent.

Sector indices increased 1.02% in electricity, 0.94% in utilities, 0.85% in vehicles, 0.78% in IT, 0.67% in technology and 0.63% in metals. On the other hand, stocks in services, oil and gas, energy and industrials fell. Brent crude, the world oil benchmark, rose 1.22 percent to $77.02 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 1,030.90 crore on Monday, according to stock market data. Earlier on Monday, the Sensex fell 216.28 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 63,168.30, while the Nifty ended at 18,755.45, or 70.55 points, or 0.37 percent lower. (agency)