Markets gain marginally at close

The Sensex ended up 48 points at 28,386 and the Nifty gained 13 points to close at 8,476

Markets ended marginally higher, amid a volatile trading session on Wednesday, ahead of the expiry of November derivative contracts on Thursday led by FMCG major ITC.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 48 points at 28,386 and the 50-share Nifty gained 13 points to close at 8,476.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,169 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The Indian rupee was trading marginally higher at Rs 61.84 to the US dollar as gains in other Asian currencies compared to the US dollar has dampened sentiment.

Asian shares were trading mixed after US third quarter GDP data signalled that the U.S. economy grew at a relatively stable pace allayed investor fears over slowing global growth. Shares in Japan witnessed profit taking and the Nikkei ended down 0.1%. Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng each ended 1.1-1.4% higher while Straits Times ended flat with negative bias.

The BSE Realty index was the top sectoral gainer up 4% followed by FMCG and Power and Metal indices among others. The BSE Healthcare index was the top loser followed by IT and Bankex.

FMCG major ITC ended up 2.3%, having recovered from yesterday's slump as analysts do not see the new restrictions on the sale of cigarettes materially affecting the company's revenues.

In the financial segment, HDFC ended up 0.6%, SBI gained 1% and HDFC Bank ended up 0.5%.

BHEL extended gains after an upgrade by a foreign brokerage to end 2.3% higher.

In the auto sector, M&M and Hero MotoCorp ended up 1.3% each.

Other Sensex gainers include, HDFC, Sesa Sterlite, GAIL, and Hindalco among others.

However, Bajaj Auto ended down nearly 1% after Nigeria's central bank devalued the naira by 8 percent and raised interest rates sharply on Tuesday. Nearly 12% of Bajaj Auto's revenues come from Nigeria - analysts. Maurti and Tata Motors are down 0.5% each.

Bharti Airtel ended nearly 3% lower as Nigeria is Bharti Airtel's biggest market in Africa.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries ended 0.7% down.

Among other shares, Reliance Capital ended up 4.2% after the company said Nippon Life Insurance has agreed to increase its stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) from 26% to 49%.

Financial Technologies India surged 4.5% after the company announced the sale of its 5% stake in MCX-SX to ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, along with 12 others, in a deal amounting to over Rs 88 crore.

MRF ended up 4% after reporting a strong 72% year on year growth in its standalone net profit at Rs 317 crore for the quarter ended September 2014, on back of strong operational performance. The tyre maker had profit of Rs 184 crore in the same quarter last year.

Reliance Capital ended up 4% after the company said Nippon Life Insurance has agreed to increase its stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) from 26% to 49%.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index gained 0.6% and Small-cap index ended up 1.1%.

Market breadth ended positive with 1,664 gainers and 1,237 losers on the BSE.