Mumbai, India (BBN) - The benchmark BSE index Sensex was trading above the 27,000-mark and the NSE index Nifty above the 8,300-level on a flurry of buying by retail and domestic investors owing to positive global cues.
However, caution prevailed ahead of macroeconomic data and quarterly earnings from blue-chip companies, reports The Hindu Business Line.
At 12:25pm, the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 157.07 points or 0.58 per cent at 27,056.63 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 58.05 points or 0.7 per cent at 8,346.65.
Barring IT and TECk, all other BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green.
Among them, metal index surged the most by 4.1 per cent, banking 1.76 per cent, PSU 1.18 per cent and capital goods 0.82 per cent.
On the other hand, IT index was down 0.51 per cent and TECk 0.28 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Coal India (+3.86 per cent), Tata Steel (+3.55 per cent), Lupin (+1.83 per cent), Adani Ports (+1.56 per cent) and HDFC Bank (+1.41 per cent), while the major losers were TCS (-0.62 per cent), Bajaj Auto (-0.57 per cent), Infosys (-0.55 per cent), Cipla (-0.4 per cent) and NTPC (-0.15 per cent).
A report by SMC Global said: "India's auto sales saw their biggest monthly fall in 16 years in December due to demonetisation drive.
Asian stocks opened higher following a surge in metal stocks after evidence of quickening price growth in China boosted metals and other commodities.
Crude oil prices dropped to a one-month low. European stock markets, which had opened broadly lower, closed the day on a firmer note, while Wall Street shares closed mixed.
US stocks have risen in the last two months in anticipation of easier fiscal policy based on Trump's campaign promises of increased infrastructure spending and tax cuts.
Hiring increased for the month of November in the US, indicating a steady growth in the jobs market, according to data from the US Labor Department.
The number of positions waiting to be filled rose 71,000 to 5.52 million which was in line with the forecast of 5.5 million.
While hiring increased to 5.22 million from 5.16 million, the rate of hiring remained unchanged at 3.6 per cent."
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