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Benchmark indices are trading 1.5% higher each in the late noon trades on sustained buying by retail and fund investors in bank shares.
At 1.50 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 408 points at 26,655 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 119 points at 7,962.
Banking shares are trading higher by up to 9%, extending their previous day’s upward move on the bourses, after the World Bank said Indian economy is set to grow by 6.4% in 2015-16 as against 5.6% in 2014-15.
Federal Bank, Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India has rallied more than 3% each, while State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank up 2-3% on National Stock Exchange (NSE).
ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, SBI and Axis Bank are trading higher between 2-3% on the BSE.
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(updated at 1 pm)Benchmark indices are trading 1% higher each in the noon trades led by gains in financial and oil shares. In addition, strength in the global markets and appreciating rupee have boosted the sentiments of the market participants.
At 1 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 254 points at 26,501 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 75 points at 7,918.
Foreign funds were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 1,441 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data on the stock exchanges.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices are up over 1.4% each.
Market breadth is strong with 1,811 gainers and 821 losers on the BSE.
Asian Markets:
Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Thursday as concerns about a resurgent yen, which hit stocks of exporters, erased early gains stemming from optimism over the Federal Reserve's dovish position on interest rates.The Nikkei fell 0.8 percent to 15,478.93, its lowest close in five weeks.
However, other Asian shares surged and the dollar skidded on Thursday after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed concerns about downside risks of a stronger dollar and the global economy. Hang Seng, Straits Times and Shanghai Composite gained between 0.2-1%.
Rupee:
The rupee firmed up further from initial gains against the US greenback, gaining 35 paise to 61.05 per dollar today on persistent selling of the American unit by banks and exporters amid bearish dollar overseas and rallying domestic equities.
Sectors & Stocks:
On the sectoral front, all sectoral indices are trading in green. BSE Realty index is the top gainer up over 2% followed by BSE Capital goods, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Metal and Power indices trading higher between 1-2%. Bankex is up 1.6%.
In the metal pack, Hindalco is the top gainer of this hour up 5% as global rival Alcoa Inc's earnings beat forecasts, propelled by higher aluminium prices.
Hindalco expects similar earnings performance from its overseas subsidiary Novelis Inc, which is the world's largest producer of rolled aluminium products. Following the tandem, Sesa Sterlite and Tata Steel are up 1% each.
Pharma shares which witnessed selling pressure following reports of US Congress prive probe also rebounded and were trading with gains. Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma are up between 1-1.5% .
Cipla has climbed 1.6%% after the company said Medpro Pharma has entered into a tie up with Teva Pharmaceuticals affiliate to exclusively sell Teva products in South Africa. Medpro Pharma is a subsidiary company of Cipla Medpro.
Among the technology stocks, Infosys rebounded from Wednesday's nearly 5% drop following a downgrade by Citigroup. The stock is trading over 0.5% higher ahead of its second quarter earnings due tomorrow. TCS is also up 0.7% while Wipro is trading with marginal gains.
Financials shares have firmed up on the back of encouraging growth forecast from IMF. HDFC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI are up between 1-2.5%.
Shares of oil companies are gaining on the back of declining Brent crude prices. Reliance Industries has gained 1.3% and ONGC is up nearly 2%.
Capital goods shares are among the top gainers. L&T has extended its yesterday’s rally of 2.3% and is up 1.6% after the company said its wholly-owned subsidiary L&T Technology Services received approval from the Competition Commission of India to acquire the engineering business of US-based Dell Product and Process Innovation Services. Meanwhile, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has rallied 5% to Rs 210 on NSE after state-run company said it has bagged EPC (engineering, procurement & construction) contract worth of Rs 7,800 crore for setting up a 1,320 MW thermal power project in Tamil Nadu.
On the flip side, M&M, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and ITC are some of the prominent losers on the BSE down between 0.2-0.5%.
