Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) The Indian benchmark equity indices on Monday reversed their early losses to end their eight-day losing streak, and closed the intra-day trading session in the positive territory. The Sensex finished at 75,996.86, up by 57.65 points or 0.08 per cent from its previous close. It was around 702.10 points higher than its intra-day low of 75,294.76, with the Sensex touching an intra-day high of 76,041.96. Similarly, the Nifty ended the day 30.25 points or 0.13 per cent higher at 22,959.50. The index traded between 22,974.20 and 22,725.45 during the session. Out of the 50 stocks that make up the Nifty index, 34 ended the day in the green, with Adani Enterprises leading the gains with a nearly 4 per cent rise.

Among the top gainers were Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid and IndusInd Bank. On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, TCS, and ICICI Bank were among the major losers, with their shares falling as much as 3.45 per cent. The broader markets also saw a recovery in the second half of the trading day. The Nifty Midcap100 index closed with a gain of 0.39 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap100 index ended with a marginal increase of 0.04 per cent. Among the sectors on the NSE, Pharma, Banks, Financial Services, Healthcare, OMCs, Consumer Durables, and Metals showed positive movements.

The Nifty Pharma index was the top performer, which rose 1.27 per cent during the session, with Glenmark Pharma and Ajanta Pharma leading the gains. However, the Nifty Auto, FMCG, IT, and Media indices ended lower, with declines of up to 0.71 per cent. According to experts, recent shifts in global policies, especially those emerging from the US, are invoking a sense of uncertainty among foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which in turn is reshaping their investment strategies in dynamic markets like India. Additionally, the prevailing high valuations in the Indian stock market have added to the caution among investors, said Vipul Bhowar of Waterfield Advisors. Last week, both indices ended their two-week winning streak with significant losses.

/IANS