Bank, power and metal stocks are hogging the limelight on the Indian bourses this afternoon, where the mood remains fairly bullish, amid optimism about growth. Recently, the World Bank said in its report that India's gross domestic product is expected to spike to 7.2% in 2017-18, up from 6.8% in the previous year. The bank says that the Indian economy will rise gradually to 7.7% in 2019-20, riding on recovery in private investments.
Capital goods, automobile and oil stocks are among the other prominent gainers. Information technology, healthcare, consumer durables, realty and FMCG stocks are turning in a mixed performance.
The Sensex is up 204.53 points or 0.7% at 29,618.19, more than 80 points off the day's high of 29,701.19. The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange is up 63.75 points or 0.7% at 9203.05.
Among the stocks in the banking space, ICICI Bank is gaining 3.3%, Bank of Baroda is up 2.8% and State Bank of India is up 2%. Federal Bank and Punjab National Bank are up 1.75% and 1.5%, respectively. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank and IndusInd Bank are up 0.3% - 1%, while Kotak Mahindra Bank is down marginally. Canara Bank is rising 2.8%. IDFC Bank is up 1.5%. Yes Bank is up marginally.
Among the stocks in the power sector, Adani Transmission is up 6.5%, A to Z Infra is gaining 2.2%, Adani Power is up 5%, JSW Energy is rising 4.7%, Reliance Infrastructure is gaining 4.3%, Torrent Power and JP Power are up 4%, CESC is rising 3.75%, GMR Infrastructure is adding 3.5%, Wabag is up 3.2% and NB Ventures is up nearly 3%. NTPC, Reliance Power, GPCL and BF Utilities are also up sharply.
Among metal stocks, Tata Steel is up 1%. The company has announced that its board will meet on April 20 to consider a proposal for fund raising. Nalco and Hindalco are up 4% and 3.5%, respectively. Vedanta is up nearly 3%, NMDC and Jindal Steel & Power are gaining 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. APL Apollo Tubes, Ratnamani Metals, Orissa Minerals, SAIL, MOIL, Welcorp and Hindustan Zinc are up 0.5% - 1.6%. JSW Steel is down marginally and Coal India is down by about 1.7%.
