Closing Bell: Pharma, IT lift Sensex, Nifty; Dr Reddy's, Infosys among top gainers

Domestic equity markets closed emphatically on Tuesday aided by stong action in pharma and IT stocks. Benchmark indices BSE Sensex closed at ​61,121.35, up nearly 374.76 points 0.62 per cent. Meanwhile, Nifty50 was trading at 18,145.40, higher by 133.20 points or 0.74 per cent.

The markets were volatile as the session witnessed a tussle between the bulls and bears where the former trumped the latter. The India VIX, a gauge for volatility in Nifty was up over 2 per cent at 16.13.  

In the 30-share Sensex, 22 stocks were gainers at the closing time while 8 were among losers. In the 50-share Nifty50, 38 stocks advanced while 12 declined.

The stock markets closed on a strong footing ahead of the crucial US Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting which begins later today. This was the fourth successive positive closing for Sensex and Nifty.

Nifty managed a comfortable closing above 18000, a level that it recaptured after 48 days on Monday.

The biggest gainers on BSE were NTPC, Power Grid and Dr Reddy's Laboratories while top losers were Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries. On Nifty, Divi's Lab, PowerGrid and NTPC were among top gainers. The top losers were Axis Bank, UP and Eicher Motors.

Out of 15 Nifty sectoral indices, 11 were on the winning side while, 4 were on the losing side. The biggest gainers were Nifty Pharma (+2.12 per cent), Nifty IT (+1.89 per cent) and Nifty Healthcare Index (+1.93 per cent).

Also Read: Stock Markets Highlights: Nifty scales 18000 peak, Sensex zooms nearly 800 points to end at 60,746

Action was seen in the broader markets as well as NIFTY MIDCAP 100 ended at 31,705.50, up by 0.87 per cent while NIFTY SMALLCAP closed at 100 9,707.85, higher by 0.22 per cent.

The rupee closed at 82.70 after moving in a small range of 82.60 to 82.80.