Mumbai, Jan 4 (IANS) A key Indian equities index, which rallied during the last hour of trade, closed a little below the late highs — yet 97 points up — even as heavyweights Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel ended losers.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,473.45 points, ended at 17,561.84 points, up 97.03 points or 0.56 percent from its previous close at 17,464.81 points.

It had risen to 17,582.84 points during the closing hour.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,235.15 points against the previous close at 5,201.05 points, a gain of 0.66 percent.

Broader market indices did relatively better, with the BSE midcap index ending 1.61 percent up and the BSE small cap index closing 1.63 percent higher.

The market breadth was positive, with 2,137 stocks advancing, 742 declining and 68 remaining unchanged.