Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty pared most of their intra-day gains to end marginally higher on Thursday as monthly derivative contracts expired amid lacklustre global cues.

After touching a high of 39326.98 during the session, the BSE Sensex succumbed to selling pressure in the last hour of trade. It finally finished at 39113.47, up 39.55 points or 0.10 per cent.

The NSE Nifty inched up 9.65 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 11559.25. The Sensex has now gained 893.08 points in five sessions, while the Nifty has climbed 247.05 points.

IndusInd was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Thursday, rallying 6.59 per cent

Rupee vaults

The rupee vaulted 48 paise to end at 73.82 against the dollar on Thursday after RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank has not exhausted its ammunition to deal with the pandemic-induced stress.

Sustained foreign fund inflows, positive domestic equities and a weak dollar boosted the rupee, forex traders said.