Sensex, Nifty End Off Day's Highs
(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly higher on Thursday after a choppy session.
While firm global cues on the back of dovish Fed comments helped underpin sentiment, disappointing auto sales figures for July and rising oil prices on heightened Middle East tensions prompted traders to book profits at higher levels.
Oil added to a 4 percent overnight surge after media reports suggested that Iran is considering a retaliatory strike on Israel for killing a Hamas leader on its soil.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session up 126.21 points, or 0.15 percent, at 81,867.55 after hitting a record high of 82,129.49 in intraday trading.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index made a fresh peak of 25,078.30 before closing at 25,010.90, up 59.75 points, or 0.24 percent, from its previous close.
The mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE fell 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively due to concerns over rich valuations.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Coal India and Power Grid Corp rallied 2-4 percent in the Nifty pack while automakers Tata Motors, Hero Moto Corp and Mahindra & Mahindra fell 1-3 percent.
Britannia Industries and Tata Steel ended down over 1 percent each.