Sensex up 81 points; Nifty crosses 5,200 level

Mumbai, Dec 29: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today rose by 81.10 points to 17,441.71 points on buying by funds in auto and consumer durables stocks.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty breached the 5,200 points level moving up by 23.65 points to 5,202.05 points.

Brokers said fresh buying activity picked up on optimism over the global economic recovery and robust December quarter earnings for domestic companies.

Mixed cues from other Asian markets also influenced the trading sentiments here, they added.

Among Sensex stocks, power producer NTPC rose by 2.33 per cent to Rs 235.25, while Reliance Infra gained 2.08 per cent at Rs 1,123.00. The country’s largest private lender, ICICI Bank, moved up 1.66 per cent to Rs 877.05.

Two-wheeler major Hero Honda rose by 1.29 per cent at Rs 1,757.00, while auto major Tata Motors moved up 1.03 per cent to Rs 788.

The BSE consumer durables index rose by 1.21 per cent to 3,699.41 points while the auto index gained 0.45 per cent at 7,389.62 points.

–PTI