Markets Live: Sensex, Nifty Open Higher; Hindustan Copper Down 4%

Indian equities have opened higher for the third straight day, beginning the weekly options expiry session on a steady note.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.45% higher at 49,885 while the NSE Nifty 50 index opened 0.4% higher at 14,875.

Most sectoral indices have opened with gains this morning. The Nifty Bank index has opened 150 points or 0.5% higher at 33,154 while the PSU Bank index, which was the top sectoral gainer on Wednesday, opened 0.7% higher.

The Nifty Metal index opened higher for the ninth straight day, with gains of 0.9%.

The Nifty Auto index has opened 0.6% higher while Nifty I.T. and FMCG index are up 0.3% each.

Broader markets have opened higher as well. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices have both opened with gains of 0.6% each.

Good Morning!

Indian equities gained for the second day in a row on Wednesday on policy announcements made by the Reserve Bank of India. The gains were led by banking, auto and technology stocks as the fourth-quarter earnings season draws near.

The rupee, however, saw its biggest single-day drop since August 2019 to fall to its lowest in four months.

Futures are pointing to a steady start to Thursday's weekly options expiry session. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.4% to 14,918, as of 8:10 a.m.

Asian equities are mixed this morning with benchmarks in Japan declining amid concerns that Tokyo may adopt stricter steps to curb the rising coronavirus cases. Australian markets outperformed, while those in China and Hong Kong fluctuated.

• Futures on the Dow Jones are trading 50 points higher. The index ended flat on Wednesday.
• Yields on the 10-year treasuries stood at 1.67%, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $59.42 per barrel.