Sensex gains 20 points

Brokers said that despite today being the last session for the current settlement, shares of multinational companies rallied smartly on fresh buying by operators as well as FIIs. The foreign funds picked up shares of blue chip companies like German Remedies, Pfizer, Glaxo, Dr Reddy8217;s. The volume of business increased by Rs 77.04 crore to Rs1020.47 crore.

On the National Stock Exchange NSE, in range bound trading, pivotals ended marginally higher on fresh support from domestic institutions and squaring on end of account considerations. The NSE-50 opened at 1105.50, moved up to a high of 1112.40 and closed at 1109.60, showing a rise of 3.80 points over the previous close of 1105.80. The Midcap opened steady at 1284.90, traded between 1274.90 and 1307.05 and closed at 1302.50, with a sharp rise of 17.60 points from the last close of 1284.90. The total turnover was Rs 1,245.57 crore.