Sensex rises 252 points to 33,285, Nifty at 10,237 level on higher Asian markets; ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel top gainers

The Sensex and Nifty rose in early trade taking cues from higher Asian markets as fears about a global trade war looked subdued. While Sensex rose 252 points to 33,285, Nifty rose 83 points to 10,237 level. Top Sensex gainers were ICICI Bank (2.02%), Bharti Airtel (1.77%), and Tata Steel (1.67%) . YES Bank (0.61%), NTPC (0.12%) and Wipro (0.07%) were the top Sensex losers.

The Sensex opened at 33,244  and hit an intra day high of 33,306 level. Market breadth was positive with 1001 stocks rising against 296 falling on BSE. Bank stocks recovered some lost ground in early trade with the BSE bankex rising 160 points to 27,330 level.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green.

Brokers said buying by domestic institutional investors amid a firm trend at other Asian bourses led the markets higher.

BSE capital goods and auto index were other major gainers rising 0.65% and 0.48%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the rupee opened marginally lower at 64.90 per dollar today compared with previous close of 64.88.

The Indian currency closed marginally stronger against US dollar on Wednesday at 64.89, up 0.10% from its previous close of 65.11. Year to date, the rupee weakened 1.6%.

On Thursday, Sensex closed down 0.85% at 33,033, its lowest since December 8 while the broader Nifty fell below 10,200 level for the first time since December 7, ending 0.9%lower at 10,154. Both indices fell for a sixth straight session, their longest losing streak in a month. The FIIs were net sellers of stocks worth Rs 719.78 crore while the DIIs were net buyers of stocks worth Rs 409.34 crore.

Global stocks

Asian shares found relief on Thursday as fears about a global trade war amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push to introduce protectionist tariffs were tempered by signs the move could include carve-outs for key partners.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent, led by gains in South Korean shares, which also benefited from signs of easing tensions between the two Koreas. Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained one percent.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX ended down just 0.05 percent at 2,726.8 after an initial loss of almost one percent, with tech shares being a major bright spot.