Sensex finishes up...Nifty ends above 5450

The Indian market closed higher today, with the NSE Nifty closing above the 5450 mark, as investors cheered strong results by index heavyweights like SBI and Tata Steel. But, the key indices came off intra-day highs after European markets erased all gains and turned lower.

A smart improvement in key Asian markets like Japan, China and Hang Seng coupled with a stronger-than-anticipated GDP growth data from the euro-zone, especially in Germany and France, also helped perk up the mood after the recent reversals.

The BSE Sensex closed at 18,167, up 93 points or 0.5% from the previous close. It had earlier been as high as 18,260 and as low as 18,050 after opening at 18,080. The Nifty was up 35 points at 5,452 after touching a high of 5,475 and a low of 5,415.

The BSE Small-Cap index and the BSE Mid-Cap index extended their out-performance of the main indices, with gains of 0.7% and 1% respectively. Market breadth was positive and all but one sectoral index on the BSE closed in the green territory.

The BSE Metal index was down largely owing to weakness in Sterlite Industries.

DLF, ITC, Maruti, Jaiprakash Associates, Jindal Steel, Kotak Bank, PowerGrid, IDFC, Unitech, HCL Tech, Axis Bank and Gail India were the leading gainers in the Sensex and Nifty.

SBI and Tata Steel advanced after both the index heavyweights reported strong set of results for the April to June quarter. ICICI Bank rose after its merger with the Bank of Rajasthan was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Cairn India was a big winner after reports suggested that Vedanta Resources would pick up a majority stake in the company.

On the other hand, shares of Sterlite fell nearly 4% amid reports that its parent Vedanta Resources was looking to buy a majority stake in Cairn India.

Other notable losers included RCOM, which was down 3% ahead of its results. Suzlon too was soft before its first-quarter results.

M&M shares declined slightly as well after the utility major was named the preferred bidder for acquiring the cash strapped South Korean SUV maker SsangYong.

Tata Motors, Ambuja Cement and Reliance Infra were the other notable losers. Hindalco and Bharti Airtel also ended in the red.