Sensex Ends Higher, Bajaj Finance Top Loser

Benchmark indices ended the day higher led by strong gains in the stock of Reliance Industries. Global cues were rather quiet with most markets including the European markets trading little changed.

The Sensex ended the day higher by 304 points, while the Nifty higher by 76 points. Shares in Bajaj Finance dropped sharply after the company said that New loans booked was down 44% to 3.6 million from 6.5 million. Shares in Reliance Industries jumped after the company said that The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will be investing Rs 5,512 crore in the unit for a 1.2 per cent stake in Reliance Retail.

The stock ended the day 2.2 per cent higher. Shares in Tata Consultancy Services ended the day higher ahead of quarterly numbers to be declared later today. The company's board is also expected to announce a buyback of shares, which has lifted the share price in the last few days.

Among the Nifty stocks that saw good buying support were Titan, ONGC, Bajaj Auto and HeroMoto Corp. Nifty stocks that lost ground were Hindalco, Tata Motors, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee erased losses and ended 14 paise higher at 73.32 per dollar.