Mumbai, Dec 23: Fresh buying by foreign funds saw the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index gain 24.77 points over the previous close to settle at 3,676.76 points on Tuesday.

The Sensex recorded an intra-day rise of 70 points before retreating on profit-taking by domestic institutions towards the end of the session.Brokers said the intra-day movement highlights the fact that the market has improved in the last couple of weeks. The fall in the Sensex has also been attributed to short-selling by speculators.

The Sensex opened at 3,639.98 and touched a high of 3,676.76 before closing at 3,627.09. The NSE-50 (Nifty) recorded a marginal rise of 3.40 points on the last day of the current settlement to close at 1,054.80 after touching a high of 1,066.25 points. The exchange recorded a total turnover of Rs 1,498.35 crore.

Brokers said FIIs were buying selectively and were not expected to take any fresh positions in the next few days on account of the year-end vacation.

Local funds, too, have remained on the sidelines, booking profits at counters like Castrol and HLL. Buying by domestic funds has been concentrated at lower levels, brokers said.

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