Sensex furthers gains for second day on positive global cues 

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark Sensex piled on yesterday's gains by adding another 108 points to end at 33,174 as firming global cues amid reports of easing global trade war fears bolstered investors' sentiment.

Banking stocks were the session's biggest gainers, with the PSU lender SBI emerging on top in the Sensex pack.

Trading sentiment got a massive lift in the wake of the government's announcement to borrow Rs 2.88 lakh crore in the April-September period of 2018-19, lower than Rs 3.72 lakh crore it had borrowed in the first half of the current fiscal, and introduce bonds linked to CPI or retail inflation.

Also, short-covering by speculators ahead of March F&O expiry and fiscal deficit data to be released tomorrow added to the upmove.

After a strong opening, the BSE 30-share Sensex hit a high of 33,371.04, before closing at 33,174.39, up 107.98 points, or 0.33 per cent.

It had gained almost 470 points in the previous session.

The 50-share Nifty scaled a high of 10,207.90 intra-day but succumbed to profit-booking to finish at 10,184.15, up 53.50 points, or 0.53 per cent.

All sectoral indices, led by metals, PSU, oil & gas, banking and healthcare stocks were in the green.

Major gainers were SBI, Asian Paints, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, HUL, Maruti Suzuki and TCS ended in the positive zone.

Asian markets too firmed up and Europe opened higher after Wall Street rebounded in previous trading session as trade tensions between the US and China appeared to ease.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, DIIs bought shares worth Rs 2,017.95 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares of Rs 741.19 crore yesterday.