Sensex Rises 100 Points, Nifty Above 18,200; Pharma, Metal Stocks Rally

PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex platform, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, TCS, Infosys, Maruti, and Sun Pharma

Mid- and smallcap shares were slightly positive as Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.10 per cent and small-cap shares were trading 0.11 per cent higher. Image: Getty

New Delhi: The domestic equity benchmark indices traded higher in opening deals on Thursday.  

Sensex jumped around 100 points in opening trade, tracking gains in index-heavyweights Infosys, TCS, and Maruti.

Encouraging earnings reports by software majors TCS and Infosys supported the domestic equities. However, weak macroeconomic data restricted the appreciating bias to some extent, traders said.

The BSE index, while battling heavy volatility in early trade, was trading 99.04 points higher at 61,249.08. The Nifty advanced 35.50 points to 18,247.85.

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The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) and broader 50-scrip #Nifty on the National Stock Exchange traded largely steady in early trade on Thursday. At 10.05 a.m., Sensex traded flat at 61,161 and Nifty at 18,215 points.

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PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, TCS, Infosys, Maruti, and Sun Pharma. On the other hand, Wipro, HDFC Bank, M&M, and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share Sensex settled 533.15 points or 0.88 per cent higher at 61,150.04. Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty climbed 156.60 points or 0.87 per cent to end at 18,212.35.

Mid- and smallcap shares were slightly positive as Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.10 per cent and small-cap shares were trading 0.11 per cent higher.

The country's largest software exporter TCS on Wednesday reported a 12.2 per cent jump in December quarter net profit at Rs 9,769 crore, while Infosys registered a near 12 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 5,809 crore.

Meanwhile, Wipro posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,969 crore for the December 2021 quarter, almost flat compared to the year-ago period.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 1.4 per cent in November, as most components like manufacturing, electricity, mining, primary goods, and consumer durables witnessed a slowdown.

Meanwhile, rising prices of essential kitchen items pushed the retail inflation to a six-month high of 5.59 per cent in December, close to the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong was in the positive territory.

Stock exchanges in the US ended with gains in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.21 per cent to $84.89 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,001.57 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.