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Sensex jumps over 100 points, Nifty above 6,000

The BSE Sensex opened on a strong note on Thursday tracking higher Asian stocks. A spate of government decision, aimed to reduce fiscal deficit, led to positive sentiments, traders said.

At 09.17 a.m., the Sensex traded 112 points or 0.6 per cent higher at 19,778 while the broader Nifty gained 32 points to 6,004. The rupee also inched higher against the dollar at 54.63.

Independent analyst Sarvendra Srivastava said the correction in the Nifty seems to be over and the next leg up is around the corner when targets of 6,200-6,300 look possible.

Sentiment turned positive after the government announced a hike in railway fares across classes, the first in nearly a decade. The fare hike will add Rs 6,600 crore to Railway's revenue kitty and allow it to plug its operating loss.

Besides, the petroleum ministry is learnt to be finalizing a note for partial diesel deregulation to lower the fuel subsidy. The move involves a phased increase in diesel prices or making diesel prices market-determined for bulk consumers such as railways, defense and state transport companies.

"We see the recent move to hike passenger fares and discussion of higher diesel prices as a medium-term positive as it should help narrow the consumption-investment gap," global brokerage Nomura said.

"The government is determined to see that the credit rating of India does not fall because all this has a direct impact on deficit," S.V. Prasad, chairman of Chime Consulting said.

Energy stocks led the rally, with the BSE Oil and Gas index rising 1.2 per cent. State-run explorer ONGC was the top Nifty gainer, up 2.8 per cent. Refiner BPCL extended gains, rising 1.3 per cent.

In all, 46 stocks traded higher on the Nifty. Tata Motors extended its dream run, rising 1.6 per cent to another record high. PSU banks like PNB and State Bank of India rose on multiple upgrades.

IT major Infosys was flat, up 0.25 per cent, ahead of reporting Q3 earnings tomorrow.

Bharti Airtel was the top Nifty loser, down 0.9 per cent followed by cement makers ACC and Ambuja.

Global cues:

Asian shares rose on Thursday as much stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data magnified positive momentum overnight from global markets and kept alive hopes for a recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

(With inputs from Reuters)