Sensex Rises Over 250 Points, Nifty Touches 9,150 Tracking Global Markets

Domestic stock markets moved higher on Thursday tracking gains in global peers, rising for the third straight day in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 0.95 per cent - or 291.69 points - to touch 31,110.30 in the first half of trade, having started the session up 85.68 points at 30,904.29. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 9,149.75, after opening on a positive note at 9,079.45 compared to its previous close of 9,066.55. Gains in banking, financial services and automobile stocks led the upmove.  

At 11:32 am, the Sensex traded 246.30 points (0.80 per cent) higher at 31,064.91 while the Nifty was up 72.75 points (0.80 per cent) at 9,139.30. 

In the Nifty basket of 50 components, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, Bharti Infratel, Zee Entertainment and Hero MotoCorp, trading between 2.96 per cent and 3.76 per cent higher, were the top percentage gainers at the time.Thirty nine stocks in the index moved higher at the time. 

Shree Cement, NTPC, Grasim, Larsen & Toubro and Dr Reddy's - down between 1.31 per cent and 1.99 per cent each - were the top Nifty losers.

Reliance Industries' rights issue, trading as Reliance Industries Limited-Rights Entitlement on the NSE, fell as much as 5.89 per cent in early deals, a day after it made a stellar debut by closing up 39.6 per cent at Rs 212.

Equities elsewhere in Asia registered mild gains after global equities and crude prices rallied overnight on hopes of a rapid economic recovery and government support. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.18 per cent higher.

China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI benchmarks were up 0.20 per cent, 0.05 per cent and 0.37 per cent respectively. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.05 per cent at the time,

The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last seen down 0.62 per cent in early Asia trade, indicating a negative start for the US markets on Thursday.  

Overnight in the US, Wall Street notched its fourth gain in five sessions on Wednesday as investors again bet on a swift economic recovery from coronavirus-driven lockdowns and the potential for more stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 index closed up 1.67 per cent at a two-month high, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite indices rose 1.52 per cent and 2.08 per cent respectively.

On Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had ended 25.16 points - or 0.08 per cent - lower at 31,097.73 and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark at 9,136.85, down 5.90 points or 0.06 per cent compared to the previous close, as the markets only managed to trim losses in a weak session.