Building on the ongoing recovery, the Sensex rose in early trade on Wednesday as a positive global trend kept investors’ morale high. Speculators cut down their short positions ahead of the March derivatives contract expiry on Thursday and the rupee strengthened to a 17-month high of 64.95 against the dollar, which helped improve the risk appetite. The BSE 30-share barometer had gained 172.37 points in the previous session on the back of upbeat global cues on renewed optimism for tax reforms in the US and continued foreign inflows. Sectoral indices led by infrastructure, power, capital goods, technology and IT were in the green, adding up to 0.60%. The NSE Nifty was also higher.
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Traders said increased buying by retail investors coupled with sustained foreign fund inflows and covering-up of outstanding short positions ahead of the March derivatives expiry had a positive impact. A firm trend on other Asian bourses following a rebound on the Wall Street fuelled by strong US data influenced sentiment, they said.
2.20pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 95 points, or 0.32%, to 29,504, while the Nifty 50 rises 28 points, or 0.31%, to 9,129.
2.15pm: Auto stocks fell after Supreme Court bans the sale of BS III vehicles from 1 April. Ashok Leyland shares fall 2.8%, Hero MotoCorp Ltd shares fall 4%, Tata Motors Ltd shares fall 1%.
1.45pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 99 points, or 0.34%, to 29,509, while the Nifty 50 rises 34 points, or 0.37%, to 9,134.
12.47pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 89 points, or 0.30%, to 29,498, while the Nifty 50 rises 28 points, or 0.31%, to 9,129.
11.30am: Shares of consumer electronic companies gain amid a heat wave in India. IFB Industries 5.3%, Blue Star 5.3%, Whirlpool 2.4%, Voltas 4.5%.
11.00am: Banking stocks gain. State Bank of India shares rise 2%, ICICI Bank shares rise 1.5%, Axis Bank shares rise 1.1%, Punjab National Bank shares rise 1.4%, Bank of Baroda shares rise 1.2%, Oriental Bank of Commerce shares rise 3.3%, Bank of India shares rise 2.6%, Allahabad Bank shares rise 2.1%, Canara Bank shares rise 1.9%, Syndicate Bank shares rise 1.4%.
10.58am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 64 points, or 0.22%, to 29,474, while the Nifty 50 rises 20 points, or 0.22%, to 9,120. Bharti Infratel shares rise over 3.5% to trade at Rs329.95.
10.00am: Paint companies shares trade higher. Asian Paint Ltd shares rise 1.33%, Berger Paints India Ltd shares rise 2.2%, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd shares rise 2.4%, Shalimar Paints Ltd shares rise 13%.
9.30am: Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals Ltd shares rise 10% to Rs 305.30. According to CNBC TV the company got US drug regulator approval for cancer drug Zejula for Tesaro Inc.
9.26am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 56 points, or 0.19%, to 29,466, while the Nifty 50 rises 19 points, or 0.21%, to 9,120.
9.20am: Bharti Infratel Ltd rose 2% to Rs 324.95 after huge block deal. Around 209.10 million shares or 11.3% stake of the company have changed hands in four block deal, Bloomberg reported. However, details of the buyers and sellers were not known.
9.18am: Hindustan Zinc Ltd fell 2.8% to Rs 290.10 after its shares turned ex dividend. On 22 March, after the company announced one-time interim dividend of 1375% for the fiscal year 2017.
9.17am: Mic Electronics Ltd shares rose 3% to Rs 13.60. The company to consider allotting 43.30 million shares to investors at Rs 20 a share on 31 March.
9.15am: The rupee opened at 65.10 a dollar and touched a high of 64.99 —a level last seen on 28 October 2015. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 64.99—up 0.07% from its Monday’s close of 65.05.
9.10am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.732%, compared to its previous close of 6.711%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.00am: Thai baht was down 0.27%, Malaysian ringgit 0.17%, Philippines peso 0.17%, China renminbi 0.16%, Japanese yen 0.08%, South Korean won 0.05%, Indonesian rupiah 0.05%. However, Singapore dollar was up 0.04%.
With inputs from PTI
