Stock Market: Indices At New High; Sensex Gains 290 Points, Nifty Over 20,150. Bombay Dyeing Soars 17%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, TechM, Tata Steel, Wipro, HCL, PowerGrid, SBI emerged early gainers. On the downside only Airtel and Bajaj Finance were the two laggards

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday scaled new highs amid gains from Asian markets following US consumer price index rose in line with expectations. The US inflation report has also boosted investor confidence. At 9.45 am, the BSE Sensex rose 291 points to 67,758. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 20,165, up 95 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, TechM, Tata Steel, Wipro, HCL, PowerGrid, SBI emerged early gainers. On the downside only Airtel and Bajaj Finance were the two laggards. Among stocks, Bombay Dyeing surged 17 per cent after the company said it will sell a 22-acre land parcel in central Mumbai to Japan's Sumitomo Realty & Development Company for Rs 5,200 crore.

In broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices jumped up to 1 per cent.

All the sectors were trading in the green, with Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty, and PSB indices leading the chart with 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 246 points to close at 67,467. On the other hand, the Nifty50 settled at 20,070, up 77 points.

"The August US CPI figures reinforces speculation that the Federal Reserve may pause its rate hikes in next week's policy meeting. However, the technical landscape continues to be bullish with Nifty bulls now aiming aggressively at the psychological 20,500-mark. However, persistent FII selling and expensive valuations could limit the upside going ahead," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

In Asian markets, Seoul, and Shanghai were trading in the positive territory, while Hong Kong quoted lower. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42 per cent to $92.28 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,631.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 8 paise to 82.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday tracking positive domestic equities. Forex traders said the rupee is witnessing a range-bound trading against the dollar as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by elevated crude oil prices and a firm US dollar.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.98 against the dollar, and touched 82.93, registering a rise of 8 paise over its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 83.01 against the US currency.