The market was trading near the day's high in morning trade. At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 148.19 points or 0.40% at 37,123.42. The Nifty 50 index was up 34.35 points or 0.31% at 11,096.80. The Sensex was trading above the 37,000 mark after opening above that level.
Investors are awaiting the outcome of a three-day central bank policy meeting that ends later today. The resolution of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be placed on the RBI website at 11:45 IST.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.98%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.86%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1260 shares rose and 673 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.
IT shares were mixed. Tech Mahindra (down 0.85%), Wipro (down 0.47%), MphasiS (down 0.17%), Persistent Systems (down 0.17%) and TCS (down 0.12%), edged lower. MindTree (up 0.25%), Infosys (up 0.31%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.47%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.01%) and HCL Technologies (up 1.34%), edged higher.
Most pharmaceutical shares advanced. Wockhardt (up 6.22%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 4.75%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.65%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.94%), Strides Shasun (up 1.59%), Piramal Enterprises (up 1.39%), Cipla (up 1.14%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.68%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.65%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.52%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.35%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.21%), edged higher. Alkem Laboratories (down 0.06%) and Lupin (down 2.24%), edged lower.
On the economic front, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India through International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019. The first IFSC in India has been set up at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Overseas, stocks in Asia traded mixed on Thursday, while US-China trade hopes are up as negotiations are set to continue.
US stocks closed lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 snapping a five-day winning streak, after President Donald Trump's State of the Union address offered few details on his economic agenda. The president, however, insisted China commit to real, structural economic reforms before a trade deal can be reached.
On the data front, US manufacturing productivity rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter, up from 1.1% growth in the third quarter, the Labor Department reported. The US trade deficit in November fell to $49.3 billion, below the October level of $55.5 billion in October.
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