Photo: The Hindu Business Line
Chennai, India (BBN) – The Sensex and Nifty were trading flat as investors remained wary ahead of September-quarter GDP data to be published on Thursday.
However, covering-up of pending short positions ahead of November month F&O expiry supported the uptrend, reports The Hindu Business Line.
At 10.25 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 29.42 points or 0.09 per cent at 33,648.01 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 6.35 points or 0.06 per cent at 10,376.65.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index was up 1.71 per cent, capital goods 0.6 per cent, FMCG 0.47 per cent and healthcare 0.41 per cent. Only banking index was down 0.16 per cent.
The dollar held firm on Wednesday after Wall Street shot to record peaks amid signs of progress on US tax cuts, while Bitcoin topped $10,000 on more exchanges as appetite for digital currencies showed no sign of fading.
Asian share markets were not as jubilant, held back by caution over the latest missile test by North Korea and concerns at recent softness in Chinese shares.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up just a fraction, while China’s blue chip index eased 0.5 per cent. Among the better performers, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.4 per cent, while Australia’s main index rose 0.7 per cent.
Fed chair nominee Jerome Powell, in his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, said the case for a December rate hike was coming together, though he dodged comment on the tax proposals.
Powell also hinted at a lighter touch for bank regulation, saying current rules were already tough enough.
The S&P financial sector soared 2.6 per cent in reaction, its biggest daily gain since March 1. That helped the Dow climb 1.09 per cent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.99 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.49 per cent.
BBN/MMI/ANS
