Sensex Take off Over 300 Points; Nifty Hovers At 15,000; Banking Shares Top Gainer

The domestic stock markets had a gap-up opening on the back of encouraging global cues. Wall Street had a firm closing overnight and Asian markets are off to a cheerful begins. At 9:20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 49,913.21, higher by 342.21 points or 0.71 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,998.70, up 93.50 points or 0.63 per cent. The broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index gaining 0.7 per cent each.

Asian markets traded higher on Friday morning subsequent an overnight bounce on Wall Street. The Hang Seng index edged 0.31 per cent higher, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.95 per cent and Topix index gained 0.62 per cent .

Stock indices rose around the world on Thursday, with the S&P 500 climbing more than 1 per cent, led by sharp gains in technology shares. The Dow Jones rose 0.55 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.06 per cent and Nasdaq Composite added 1.77 per cent.

On the earnings front, State Bank of India, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, Shree Cement and Godrej Industries will declare their numbers during the day.

Banking shares are hogging the limelight this morning; IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have gained 1-3 per cent each to top the gainer’s list on the BSE. And India’s largest lender SBI has gained more than 1 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings to be announced during the day.

On the other hand, Powergrid, Bajaj Auto and HCL Tech have shed upto half a per cent each on the BSE.

The BSE market breadth is strong. Out of 2,427 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1809 advancing stocks as against 533 declines.