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Chennai, India (BBN) – The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by nearly 120 points in the afternoon session on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors amid firm Asian cues.
At 12:10pm, the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 114.81 points or 0.39 per cent at 29,451.38 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 38.4 points or 0.42 per cent at 9,141.90.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index was the star-performer and was up 1.67 per cent, followed by consumer durables 1.17 per cent, capital goods 0.8 per cent and infrastructure 0.76 per cent.
On the other hand, banking index was down 0.28 per cent and power 0.15 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were GAIL (+3.89%), HDFC (+1.96%), ONGC (+1.58%), Adani Ports (+1.41%) and HDFC Bank (+0.91%), while the major losers were ICICI Bank (-2.1%), Power Grid (-1.56%), Axis Bank (-1.55%), Sun Pharma (-0.66%) and Coal India (-0.48%).
EARLY TRADE
The 30-share index rose 63.57 points or 0.22 per cent to 29,400.14. The gauge had gained 17.43 points in the previous session.
Also, the NSE Nifty was up 23 points or 0.25 per cent at 9,126.50.
Brokers said that a firm trend at other Asian markets after crude oil prices rebounded from an overnight sell—off amid Japan reporting stronger—than—expected exports in March and easing tensions over North Korea helped lift sentiments.
Shares of private lender YES Bank, however, plunged 6.50 per cent to Rs. 1,501 as the asset quality of the bank slipped.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks erased early losses and edged higher on Thursday as signs of resilience emerged in some markets, while steadying commodity prices – especially for oil – prompted some bargain hunting among investors.
But with the outcome of the French presidential elections due at the weekend, markets are set to trade in well worn trading ranges, barring any major data surprises in Asia.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 per cent after declining 0.5 per cent in early trades. Gains in Chinese and Japanese stocks pulled the broader market higher.
The S&P 500 and Dow closed lower and the Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday as investors digested the latest round of earnings, while a drop in oil prices weighed on the energy sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.13 points or 0.58 per cent to 20,404.15, the S&P 500 lost 4.03 points or 0.17 per cent to 2,338.16 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.56 points or 0.23 per cent to 5,863.03.
BBN/SS/ANS