Bullish foreign institutional investors help Nifty climb above 18,000-mark

The Nifty climbed 133.70 points or 0.75% to settle at 18,070.05 points. Previously, the Nifty had closed above the 18,000-mark on April 4 this year.

Benchmark Sensex rallied 455 points and Nifty rose more than 133 points to close above the key 18,000-mark for the first time since April on Tuesday as foreign institutional investors continued to be bullish on the domestic market.

Continuing its rally for the fourth straight session, the 30-share Sensex rose 455.95 points or 0.76% to close at 60,571.08 points.The broader Nifty climbed 133.70 points or 0.75% to settle at 18,070.05 points. Previously, the Nifty had closed above the 18,000-mark on April 4 this year.Analysts said the market rally was primarily driven by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who have turned net buyers of domestic equities. Retail investor participation also added to the momentum.FIIs continued to invest in domestic equities, mainly in financial and FMCG shares.Among the Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserve, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the main gainers. HDFC Bank, HDFC, Power Grid, L&T, ITC, Reliance, SBI and Infosys also closed in positive territory.TCS was the biggest loser among the Sensex pack, declining 0.37%.FIIs pumped in Rs 2,049.65 crore into the domestic equities on Monday, according to data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange.Gains in global equities also supported the local markets.In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained nearly 0.1%, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.3% and South Korea's key Kospi index jumped 2.7%. However, Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index declined 0.2%.Brent crude rose to USD 95.15 per barrel in London.