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Benchmark share indices opened higher on Thursday led by realty and banks. The 30-share BSE Sensex is currently at 19620 levels while NSE Nifty is trading at at 5814 levels.
At 9:15AM Indian Standard Time the SGX Nifty was up 28 points or 0.5 per cent at 5,859.
Indian financial markets were closed on Wednesday, on account of Gandhi Jayanti.
The partially convertible currency traded at 62.11 against the dollar in early trades on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.
Key US share indices ended lower on Wednesday as the federal government shutdown continued for the second day while weaker-than-expected private-sector job growth report also weighed on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 59 points, or 0.4%, to end at 15,133. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed 1 points, or 0.1%, at 1,694. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed 3 points, or 0.1%, at 3,815.
Shares in Europe also closed lower on Wednesday amid rising concerns over the US federal government shutdown. The CAC-40, DAx and FTSE-100 ended down 0.3-0.9% each.
On the sectoral front, BSE Metal, Consumer Durables and Capital Goods indices have surged between 1.5-2%. Sectors like IT, TECk, PSU, Auto, Oil & Gas, Power, Realty, Healthcare and Bnaks have gained between 0.7-1.3%.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include BHEL, Coal India, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, TCS, Wipro, Hero Moto, L&T and ONGC. In the financial space, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers.
Among other shares, Jet Airways is trading higher by 4% at Rs 384 on reports that the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved the Etihad Airways’ plan to buy a 24% stake in the company as both carriers revised their deal to comply with conditions set by the markets regulator.
In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6% each.
Market breadth was strong with 646 gainers and 237 losers on the BSE.
