The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 361.83 points to touch 51,477.05 in the first few minutes of trade, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to a record high of 15,455.55, up 117.7 points from its previous close.
HDFC was the top performer in the Sensex universe, trading 1.25 per cent higher in early deals. HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, RIL and SBI were among other gainers.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma was the top laggard, down 3 per cent. Dr Reddy’s, M&M, Nestle and Bajaj Auto were among other blue-chip losers.
Analysts awaited more Q4 earnings from India Inc for cues. M&M, REC, Ipca Laboratories, Sundaram Finance, Max Healthcare and Glenmark Pharma are among the companies slated to report their financial results later in the day.
Equities in other Asian markets cheered in the early session in line with global markets as strong US economic data solidified hopes of continuing recovery. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.40 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared 1.95 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.46 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi 0.42 per cent.
Overnight on Wall Street, equity benchmarks finished higher following more signals that the economy is continuing to recover. Investors were encouraged to see that weekly unemployment claims fell to another pandemic low. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.41 per cent, the S&P 500 0.12 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite ended flat.
In the oil market, prices pushed higher supported by firm US economic data and expectations of a strong rebound in global fuel demand in the third quarter. Concerns eased about the impact of any return of Iranian supplies. Brent crude futures for July gained 0.2 per cent to $69.62 per barrel.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. MORE TO COME…
