Sensex up 141 points; IT, TECk stocks steal the show

Snapping its two-day losing streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex today gained over 141 points on buying in blue-chips led by IT stocks after Wipro posted encouraging results.

The 30-share barometer rose 141.43 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 21,205.05. The index, which lost 226 points in the last two sessions, touched the day's low of 21,001.13 points.

Brokers said the sentiment improved as the third-largest software provider Wipro posted attractive earnings for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

The

IT index advanced the most rising by 2.83 per cent to 9,661.46. TCS rose 5.53 per cent, Wipro 3.77 per cent and Infosys 0.59 per cent.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 52.30 points or 0.68 per cent to 6,303.95. It touched the day’s low of 6,243.35.

Weak overseas trend and a fall in index major Reliance Industries, however capped the gains. RIL fell 1.7 per cent to Rs 869.50.

Among the 30-Sensex stocks, 16 closed with gains. BHEL, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra and State Bank of India were among the major gainers.

The TECk index was the second best performer, which rose 2.5 per cent to 5,275.54, followed by FMCG index which settled higher by 1.08 per cent to 6,619.06.