Sensex closes in green after gaining 147 pts, rupee hits record low at 82.95

Sensex has continued its rally for the fourth day in a row by gaining 147 points to end the day above 59,000, while Nifty remained above 17,500 to close in the green. A fall in crude prices fueled the rise of the domestic indices by bringing down imported inflation in the country that relies on overseas producers for 80 per cent of its energy requirements. The markets were driven by oil and gas as well as FMCG stocks, even as IT and banking lagged behind.

Major media stocks witnessed a slowdown as advertising expenditure dropped, while HDFC, ITC and Nestle India were the top three gainers. The day was mixed for Asian indices, as Japan surged ahead, but Chinese markets registered a dip. Nikkei mirrored a positive performance by Wall Street, which was buoyed by high earnings by corporations, including Netflix that registered a massive uptick in new users.

Hong Kong faltered after rising for three days, because a fiscal stimulus failed to deliver the expected results. High earnings in US also created hope in Europe, where markets surged despite fears of recession and political uncertainty.

Although foreign investors kept selling, Indian investors matched up with their investment in domestic markets, to make sure that the rally continued. But the Rupee slid down to 82.95, registering another all time low before ending the day.