Equity benchmarks Sensex, Nifty close moderately higher

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on January 9 closed moderately higher after a fag-end sell-off minimised the handsome gains posted in early trading.

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on January 9 closed moderately higher after a fag-end sell-off minimised the handsome gains posted in early trading.

“Besides, investors opted for profit-taking ahead of the start of corporate earnings season and macroeconomic data announcements later this week,” traders said.

After rising sharply during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex trimmed most of the gains during the fag-end and ended marginally higher by 30.99 points or 0.04% at 71,386.21. During the day, it jumped 680.25 points or 0.95% to 72,035.47.

The Nifty also gave up most of the intra-day gains and ended 31.85 points or 0.15% up at 21,544.85. During the day, it climbed 211.45 points or 0.98% to 21,724.45.

Among the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were the major gainers. On the other hand, Nestle, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai settled higher, while Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The U.S. markets ended with significant gains on January 8.