Sensex at 3week high, Nifty ends above 10,000

Stocks on Tuesday pushed ahead for the third straight day -- eyes firmly on upcoming corporate earnings -with the Sensex hitting nearly three-week high and the Nifty pulling off 10,000 again.

The gains were on a tight leash as investors tried to cushion their exposure ahead of the corporate results, which serve as a barometer to find out if the recent market rally is in keeping with its fundamentals.

The July-September quarterly results are going to formally kick off with TCS, which is set to announce its numbers on Thursday. RIL is lined up next.

Driven by pharma, oil and gas and banking stocks, the Sensex ended at 31,924.41, up 77.52 points, or 0.24%. This is its highest closing since September 21 when it read 32,370.04. The gauge has climbed 254.86 points in the previous two days. For the 50-share NSE Nifty, the close came in at 10,016.95, higher by 28.20 points, or 0.28%, after shuttling between 10,034 and 10,002.30.

“Main indices traded on a positive note, but investors’ cautious view on valuation and upcoming earnings season influenced profit booking on every rise. But mid and small cap attracted investor attention led by ease in GST rates and stock-specific actions while pharma gained after a series of approvals from the USFDA,” said Vinod Nair, research head, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

MUMBAI: