The Sensex has moved higher this afternoon thanks to hectic buying in banking sector heavyweights State Bank of India and ICICI Bank. Stocks from a few other sectors are also trading firm, amid optimism about the economy after the finance minister said that the government and the central bank have taken a crucial policy decision on dealing with bad loans of Indian banks.
Optimism about the roll-out of Goods and Services Tax from 1 July 2017 also appears to be aiding sentiment in the market.
The Sensex is now up 172.15 points or 0.6% at 29,504.31. The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange is up 37.15 points or 0.41% at 9123.45.
ICICI Bank and State Bank of India are trading higher by about 3.5%. ITC is up 1.5%. GAIL India, Bharti Airtel and Power Grid Corporation are up 1% - 1.2%. Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Coal India, Wipro, Asian Paints, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra are up 0.5% - 1%.
Bank of Baroda, up 5.3%, is the top gainer in the Nifty50 index. BPCL, Yes Bank, Aurobindo Pharma and Hindalco are up 1% - 2%.
Grasim Industries is declining by about 3%. Tech Mahindra is down 1.4%. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, ONGC and Cipla are lower by 0.5% - 1%.
Asian Oilfield Services is locked at the 5% upper circuit at Rs 240.85 after the company said that it has received letter of award of contract worth Rs 108.97 crore from ONGC.
