Stock Market: Sensex Gains Over 200 Points, Nifty Trades Around 18,250. Banks, Metals Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank were among the lead gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday opened with firm gains tracking strength in global equities.

At 9.45 am, the BSE Sensex went up by 230 points to 61,792. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 18,244, up 63 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank were among the lead gainers. On the downside, M&M, Titan, Tata Motors, HUL, L&T, PowerGrid emerged early losers. Among specific stocks, Vedant Fashions lost nearly 3 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rose up to 0.5 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Banks and Metal indices log gains, rising around 1 per cent each, while Oil & Gas pocket was the only underperformer, down 0.2 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex plunged 372 points to 61,560, dragged by banks and metal shares. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50 hit a low of 18,115, and finally closed at 18,181, down 105 points.

In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong markets were trading in the green.

The US market had ended with significant gains on Wednesday.

"Domestic markets are likely to edge higher in early trade on Thursday, buoyed by firm global cues after US President Biden expressed confidence in achieving a debt-ceiling deal. The silver lining from yesterday's weak stock market was that FIIs remained as net buyers on Dalal Street, and have bought shares worth Rs 16,520 crore in the current month so far," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equities worth Rs 149.33 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.17 per cent to $76.83 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 4 paise to 82.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, as weak Asian peers and strong American currency weighed on investor sentiments. Forex traders said a positive trend in domestic equities supported the local unit and restricted the depreciating bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.36 against the dollar, then fell to 82.41, registering a decline of 4 paise over its last close. On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 82.37 against the dollar.