MARKETS LIVE: Mid, small-cap stocks outperform benchmarks; PSU banks gain

Benchmark indices are trading nearly 1 per cent higher led by gains in PSU banks, pharma and automobile stocks.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank index is trading nearly 1.5 per cent higher driven by gains in Orient Bank and Bank of India. The Nifty Pharma index, too, up nearly 1.5 per cent steered by gains in Sun Pharma.

Shares of Allahabad Bank were trading over 3 per cent higher as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday removed three commercial banks – Allahabad, Corporation and Dhanlaxmi -- from the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading 145 points, 1.02 per cent higher at 14,337, while S&P BSE SmallCap index was ruling at 13,674, up 124 points, or 0.91 per cent.

The rupee on Wednesday opened 4 paise lower at 71.11 against the US dollar. On Tuesday, the domestic unit snapped its gains of previous two sessions and closed 10 paise lower at 71.07 amid fears of escalation in geopolitical tensions, following Indian fighter jets' air strikes on Pakistan-based terror camps.
 

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares were trading higher in the early trade on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reinforced the US central bank’s recent shift towards a more “patient” approach on policy in the face of a slowing economy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei share average gained 0.4 per cent. 

In the overnight trade, US stocks settled lower. In the commodity market, oil prices rose on OPEC-led supply cuts and a report of declining US crude inventories. 

(with Reuters input)