The Hindu Business Line file photo
Chennai, India (BBN) - The benchmark BSE index Sensex was trading higher by over 210 points as Asian stocks rose to a 10-year high as investors took heart from further evidence of strength in the global economy.
Continued buying by domestic institutional investors also boosted the domestic sentiment, reports The Hindu Business Line.
At 1.45 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 218.56 points or 0.66 per cent at 33,578.40 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 54.95 points or 0.53 per cent at 10,353.70.
Among BSE sectoral indices, healthcare index was the star-performer and was up 1.99 per cent, followed by consumer durables 1.66 per cent, oil & gas 0.91 per cent and power 0.84 per cent. Only realty index was down 0.12 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Dr Reddy's (+6.00%), Sun Pharma (+4.41%), Cipla (+2.74%), Bharti Airtel (+2.48%) and NTPC (+2.16%), while the major losers were PowerGrid (-0.89%), TCS (-0.88%), Coal India (-0.45%), Asian Paints (-0.44%) and Axis Bank (-0.4%).
Dr Reddy's shares rallied as the company has got the establishment inspection report for its Duvvada facility at Vishakapatman.
RIL shares gained as much as 2.5% as Goldman Sachs raised the target price on Reliance by 26 per cent to Rs. 1,205 rupees and added the stock to its 'conviction list' with a 'buy' rating. The investment bank also expects the company's core earnings to double over the next three years.
VRL Logistics surged 3.66 per cent and Gati Ltd 3.06 per cent after the logistics sector received infrastructure status by the government yesterday that will help it access loans on easier terms.
“Markets are riding on momentum and though there could be profit-booking by derivatives expiry next week, I expect Nifty to cross 10,500,” said Krish Subramanyam, co-head - equity advisor at Altamount Capital.
European markets were expected to be somewhat more subdued in early trade, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE to open 0.05 per cent higher and Germany's DAX and France's CAC to open unchanged.
Gains on Wall Street overnight helped MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rise 0.8 per cent to a fresh decade-high.
US stocks rose on Monday, with Verizon boosting the telecoms sector after the stock got an upgrade, while a deal in semiconductors lifted high-performing tech shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 72.09 points or 0.31 per cent to 23,430.33, the S&P 500 gained 3.29 points or 0.13 per cent to 2,582.14 and the Nasdaq Composite added 7.92 points or 0.12 per cent to 6,790.71.
BBN/MMI/ANS