Markets bounce back from intra-day lows; settle higher on fag-end buying

Equity benchmark indices bounced back from intra-day lows to settle in the positive territory on Thursday helped by fag-end buying.

In a volatile trade amid the monthly derivaives expiry, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 98.84 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 61,872.62.

During the day, it hit a high of 61,934.01 and a low of 61,484.66.

The NSE Nifty gained 35.75 points or 0.20 per cent to end at 18,321.15 after beginning the trade on a weak note.

From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Nestle, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major gainers.

Wipro, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India and Tata Steel were the major laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower, while Tokyo ended in the green.

Equity markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.

The US market ended lower on Wednesday.

"On the day of monthly expiry, the Indian stocks traded with high volatility," said Deven Mehata, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.

The Sensex fell 208.01 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 61,773.78 on Wednesday.

The Nifty declined 62.60 points or 0.34 per cent to end at 18,285.40.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 1.14 per cent to $77.47 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Wednesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,185.84 crore, according to exchange data.