Sensex Gains Over 100 Points, Nifty Tops 11,350 As Financial, Metal Stocks Jump

Domestic stock markets started Thursday's session on a positive note tracking gains in global equities. The S&P BSE Sensex index gained as much as 0.37 per cent - or 141.37 points - to touch 38,511.00 in the first few minutes of trade, after opening with a gain of 0.23 per cent (87.01 points) at 38,456.64. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,358.90, up 0.45 per cent - or 50.5 points - from its previous close, having started the day up 0.23 per cent at 11,334.85. 

At 11:25 am, the Sensex traded 92.35 points - or 0.24 per cent - higher at 38,461.98, while the Nifty was up 35.15 points - or 0.31 per cent - at 11,343.55.

Hindalco, JSW Steel, UPL, TCS and Wipro, trading between 1.63 per cent and 4.24 per cent higher, jumped the most among the 40 gainers in the 50-scrip Nifty basket.

Bharti Airtel, ITC and Eicher Motors, down 1.99 per cent, 1.08 per cent and 0.69 per cent respectively, were the top Nifty losers.

Infosys, TCS and Hindustan Unilever were the biggest boosts to Sensex, together contributing to nearly 90 points in the index.

Analysts awaited the release of official data on retail inflation - or the rate of increase in consumer prices - due after market hours, for more clarity on the monetary policy going forward.

Consumer inflation is expected at 6.15 per cent last month, according to a poll of economists conducted by news agency Reuters.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India maintained the key policy rates on hold as it sought to contain a rise in retail inflation, though it vowed to keep policy sufficiently loose to help revive growth in the coronavirus-battered economy.

Share markets elsewhere in Asia followed Wall Street higher on Thursday, as investors returned to tech stocks, gold and selling dollars after steady COVID-19 figures and a surprising jump in US inflation boosted sentiment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.2 per cent higher while gains in semiconductor makers drove Japan's Nikkei 1.9 per cent higher to a six-month peak.

The rises come after a tech rally left the S&P 500 within a whisker of a record closing high overnight, in a climate where even bad news is regarded as good news if it increases the chances of more stimulus to aid recovery.