Sensex, Nifty On Course To End Higher For Fifth Day

Domestic stock markets registered gains on Thursday, continuing a rally for the fifth session in a row, amid a strong buying interest in banking and financial services shares. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose 253.06 points - or 0.65 per cent - to touch 39,326.98 at the strongest level recorded during the session, whereas the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,617.35, up 67.75 points - or 0.59 per cent - from its previous close. Both indices rose ahead of the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts due by the end of the session.

At 1:14 pm, the Sensex traded 126.24 points - or 0.32 per cent - higher at 39,200.16, while the Nifty traded at 11,597.80, up 48.2 points - or 0.42 per cent - from its previous close.

In the Nifty basket of 50 shares, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and HDFC, trading between 2.54 per cent and 8.53 per cent higher, were the top percentage gainers.

On the other hand, Zee Entertainment, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Coal India, UltraTech Cement and Shree Cement, down between 1.03 per cent and 2.67 per cent, were the worst hit among 28 Nifty losers.

HDFC, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the top boosts to the Sensex.

Real estate stocks jumped, and were on course for their best one-day gain since mid-June, after Maharashtra reduced a tax on property to support the ailing sector.

Equities elsewhere in Asia took a breather amid renewed US-China tensions and as investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day.

While MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.14 per cent higher, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 0.35 per cent.

The E-Mini S&P 500 futures traded 0.17 per cent lower, indicating a negative start for US markets on Thursday.

European shares started the day on a lacklustre note, with the United Kingdom's FTSE benchmark index last seen trading 0.19 per cent lower. While France's CAC index was down 0.06 per cent, Germany's DAX barometer was up 0.13 per cent.