Sensex ends up 204 points on fag-end buying

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty snapped two days of losses to close higher on Tuesday on the back of fag-end buying in auto, power and metal shares helped by fresh foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 204.16 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 66,174.20 in a volatile trade.

During the day, it hit a high of 66,256.20 and a low of 65,906.65.

The Nifty gained 95 points or 0.48 per cent to settle at 19,889.70.

Among the Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Titan and Axis Bank were the major gainers.

ITC, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank and Power Grid were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai settled with gains while Tokyo and Hong Kong ended lower.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.19 per cent to $80.93 a barrel.

Equity markets were closed on Monday for Guru Nanak Jayanti.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,625.21 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.