Sensex Rises Over 200 Points Amid Positive Global Cues, Nifty Trades Above 16,650

Indian equity indices on Friday traded higher in opening deals, taking cues from their Asian peers. Stocks in Asia were on course for their best week in months after the European Central Bank (ECB) raised rates for the first time in over a decade. The ECB raised interest rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points (bps) to zero per cent overnight, its first hike in 11 years and ending a policy of negative interest rates that had been in place since 2014.

Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) indicated a cautious start for the domestic indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 233 points or 0.42 per cent to 55,915 in the early session, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 72 points or 0.44 per cent higher to trade at 16,678.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.60 per cent and small-cap climbed 0.58 per cent.

All the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto and Nifty Financial Services were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 0.79 per cent, 0.78 per cent and 0.74 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, UPL was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 1.84 per cent to Rs 717.95. Eicher Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,826 shares were advancing while 630 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Titan, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Maruti, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the top gainers.

Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, rose 0.57 per cent to trade at Rs 691.45.

In contrast, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Wipro, HCL Tech, L&T and NTPC were trading in the red.

Sensex had surged 284 points or 0.51 per cent to close at 55,682 on Thursday, while Nifty had moved 84 points or 0.51 per cent higher to settle at 16,605.