At 9:26 am, the S&P BSE Sensex index traded 345.65 points or 0.71 per cent higher at 49,289.79 while the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark quoted at 14,749.50, up 96.45 points or 0.66 per cent from its previous close.
Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UPL, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp, trading between 2.18 per cent and 3.14 per cent higher, were among the 44 percentage gainers in the 50-strong pack in morning trade.
On the other hand, JSW Stweel, Britannia, Tata Steel, Hindalco and SBI Life, trading 0.63-1.35 per cent lower, were among the laggards.
Equities in other Asian markets were mostly moderately higher in listless trading Wednesday, as investors watched for news out of a Federal Reserve meeting.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.4 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 0.5 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2 per cent.
Overnight on Wall Street, benchmark indices closed out a wobbly day of trading with a mixed finish, leaving the S&P 500 index just below its all-time high. The benchmark index slipped less than 0.1 per cent after wavering between small gains and losses for much of the day.
Losses in technology, health care, communication services and other sectors in the index outweighed gains in banks, industrial stocks and energy companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended up essentially flat, while the Nasdaq Composite fell.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices dropped, paring overnight gains, with soaring Covid-19 cases in India and a bigger-than-expected build in US crude stocks offsetting confidence shown by OPEC and its allies in a solid recovery in global fuel demand.
Brent crude futures were last seen trading down 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $66.16 per barrel.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. MORE TO COME…
