Amid volatility on derivatives expiry, the key Indian equity indices on Thursday closed with appreciable gains as broadly positive global markets, along with healthy quarterly results and value buying, boosted investors' sentiments.According to market observers, the benchmark indices edged higher towards the closing hour of trade on the back of healthy buying in banking, IT and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks.Index-wise, the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed higher by 47.25 points or 0.45 per cent at 10,617.80 points.Similarly, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE made gains on Thursday. It opened at 34,532.95 points, closed at 34,713.60 points -- up 212.33 points or 0.62 per cent -- from its previous session's close.The Sensex touched a high of 34,747.97 points and a low of 34,505.62 points during the intra-day trade.However, the BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,539 declines and 1,094 advances. On the NSE, too, the market breadth was bearish.In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed lower by 0.02 per cent, whereas the small-cap index rose by 0.25 per cent."Markets surged higher on Thursday as buying emerged in the last half an hour of trade on the back of the derivatives expiry of the April 2018 series," Deepak Jasani, Head, Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS."The session was slightly volatile as traders rolled over F&O (futures and options) positions from the near month April 2018 series to May 2018 series."
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: "Market remained rangebound during most part of the day due to F&O expiry, but better results from banks and improving sentiment on IT stocks lifted the index.""Continued outflow of foreign money and surging oil prices added pressure on rupee and inflation trajectory," he added.On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by 15 paise to 66.76 against the US dollar from its previous close at 66.91.In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 1,056.34 crore, while the domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 684.11 crore.Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index surged by 237.74 points, followed by the IT index by 156.90 points and FMCG index by 137.25 points.On the other hand, the S&P BSE capital goods index fell by 96.72 points, the telecom index by 34.25 points and the healthcare index by 21.14 points.The major gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank, up 8.26 per cent at Rs 352.05; Hindustan Unilever, up 2.17 per cent at Rs 1,491.25; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 2.09 per cent at Rs 3,540.35; IndusInd Bank, up 1.62 per cent at Rs 1,879.45; and ITC, up 1.61 per cent at Rs 278.30 per share.The top losers were Bharti Airtel, down 2.61 per cent at Rs 408.85; Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 2.09 per cent at Rs 2,080.40; Wipro, down 2.00 per cent at Rs 281.45; State Bank of India, down 1.71 per cent at Rs 233.35; and Tata Steel, down 1.22 per cent at Rs 579.05 per share.