Mumbai, Aug. 5 -- Benchmark BSE Sensex closed higher by 152 points in a volatile session on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its key policy rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 152.05 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end at 78,581 with 17 of its constituents closing with gains, 12 with losses and one unchanged..
The index opened higher and hit a day's high of 79,055.38 in the first half of the session. However, the index slipped into the red in the late afternoon session, hitting a low of 78,285.74 by losing 769.64 points.
Gains in blue-chip banking, auto and capital goods shares in the pre-close session helped the barometer recover from losses.
UltraTech Cement, NTPC, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major winners in the Sensex pack.
Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.
The 50-share NSE Nifty edged up 9.75 points, or 0.04 per cent, to end at 24,624.65. It hit a high of 24,677.60 and a low of 24,497.95 during intraday trade.
Broader markets also advanced as the BSE SmallCap Select index climbed 0.73 per cent and MidCap Select index went up by 0.45 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,446.47 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.75 per cent to USD 80.75 per barrel.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.