Key equity indices held firm at higher levels in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 361.45 points or 1.01% at 36,078.40. The Nifty 50 index was up 99.50 points or 0.93% at 10,828.35. The Sensex was trading above 36,000 mark and the Nifty was trading above 10,800 mark. Strong global cues, coupled with a fall in crude oil prices and a firmness in rupee boosted investors' sentiment.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.40%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.16%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1129 shares rose and 1161 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.
Media shares advanced. Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 2.27%), TV Today Network (up 0.73%), Zee Media Corporation (up 0.63%), Network18 Media & Investments (up 0.26%) and UFO Moviez India (up 0.22%), edged higher.
Most IT shares declined on firming rupee. MindTree (down 2.57%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 2.46%), Persistent Systems (down 2.38%), HCL Technologies (down 2.3%), MphasiS (down 1.15%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.47%) and TCS (down 0.33%), edged lower. Infosys (up 0.56%), Wipro (up 0.64%) and Hexaware Technologies (up 1.38%), edged higher.
Appreciation in rupee dents top line of IT firms as these companies derive most of their revenues in dollar terms.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 961.26 crore in the domestic equity market on 28 November 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 330.29 crore on 28 November 2018, as per provisional data.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 69.9125, compared with its close of 70.625 during the previous trading session.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for January 2019 settlement was down 17 cents at $58.59 a barrel. The contract fell $1.45 a barrel or 2.41% to settle at $58.76 a barrel during the previous trading session.
India imports majority of its crude requirements and a decline in crude eases concerns on fiscal deficit, inflation and gives more room for the government to boost growth through spending on infrastructure.
Overseas, Asian shares jumped on Thursday, tracking a Wall Street rally as dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted investor sentiment towards riskier assets.
US stocks surged overnight, spurred by a remarks from Fed Chairman Powell who said he considers the central bank's benchmark interest rate to be near a neutral level. The comments were viewed by investors as a retreat from his stance in early October when he had said that the central bank "may go past neutral, but we are a long way from neutral at this point, probably."
On the US data front, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at a 3.5% annualized rate in the third quarter, in a second estimate that matched the first.
Separately, data showed the deficit in advanced goods trade widened to $77.2 billion in October from $76.3 billion the previous month. Further, new home sales fell to an annualized rate of 544,000 in October, below the revised September rate of 597,000 new homes, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.
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