Domestic stock markets are trading firm in mid-morning trades on Wednesday amid some degree of volatility, following two days of decline. The S&P BSE Sensex index opened 183.81 points higher at 30,793.11, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark started the day at 9,082.20, up 53.15 points compared to its previous close. At 10:53 am, the BSE Sensex was at 30,874.95, higher by 253.89 points or 0.8 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 9,105.15, up 77 points or 0.8 per cent.
A total of 19 of the Nifty-50 stocks were trading in the green at the time. Hindalco, UPL, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank were the top percentage gainers on the NSE, adding 1.2-2.9 per cent each..
On the other hand, M&M, Ultratech Cement, Titan, Bajaj Finance and ITC topped the loser's charts on the NSE, shedding 1.9-2.9 per cent each.
Share markets elsewhere in Asia shed some of their recent gains as investor concerns about rising tensions between the US and China tempered optimism about a re-opening of the world economy, battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading down 0.58 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225, China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI benchmarks were down 0.10 per cent, 0.42 per cent, 0.90 per cent and 0.30 per cent respectively at the time.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures traded 0.25 per cent lower in early Asian trade, indicating a positive start for the US markets on Wednesday.
Overnight in the US, shares jumped with the S&P 500 benchmark index touching the 3,000 mark for the first time, as optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine and a revival in business activity helped investors overlook simmering US-China tensions.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.23 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite finished 2.17 per cent and 0.17 per cent higher respectively.
On Tuesday, the Sensex had ended 63.29 points - or 0.21 per cent - lower at 30,609.30, and the Nifty settled at 9,029.05, down 10.20 points - or 0.11 per cent - compared to its previous close.
