The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday opened higher, tracking positive trends and buying in largecap stocks. At 10.15 am, the BSE Sensex gained 246 points to 74,930. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,713, up 70 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, Reliance, Airtel, Kotak Bank, JSW Steel, TechM emerged early gainers. On the down side, Sun Pharma, L&T, HDFC Bank, TCS, Wipro, Infosys were among losers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced 0.45 and 0.18 per cent, respectively.
Sectoral update
Sectorwise, Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto rose 1 per cent each.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 59 points lower at 74,684, while the NSE Nifty50 settled 24 points lower at 22,643.
"Positive factors such as expectations of robust Q4 corporate earnings and a pre-election rally are supporting the market," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd. "A significant recent healthy trend in the market is the outperformance of the fundamentally strong largecaps over the mid and smallcaps. This trend is making the market healthier and, therefore, has the potential to continue," said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Global markets
In the Asian markets today, Tokyo and Shanghai experienced declines, contrasting with Hong Kong's positive performance. Meanwhile, Wall Street wrapped up Tuesday's session predominantly in the green.
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, saw a slight uptick of 0.04 percent, reaching $89.46 per barrel.
Exchange data revealed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) disposed of equities valued at Rs 593.20 crore on Tuesday.
Rupee rises 15 paise
In early trade on Wednesday, the rupee strengthened by 15 paise to 83.16 against the US dollar, following the upward trajectory of its Asian counterparts and amidst a favorable trend in domestic equities. Forex traders attributed this boost in investor confidence to the retreat of crude oil prices from their recent highs.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the Indian currency commenced trading at 83.23 against the greenback, eventually touching 83.16 during the initial session, marking a 15 paise increase from its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee had remained largely unchanged at 83.31 against the US dollar. Forex and money markets were closed on Tuesday in observance of 'Gudhipadwa'.