Nifty 50 index was trading firmly above 16,300 levels.The Indian equity benchmarks advanced on Thursday ahead of weekly expiry of index futures n option contracts due later in the day led by gains in ITC, HDFC Bank, ICIC Bank, HDFC, Power Grid and Bajaj Finance.
The Sensex rose as much as 176 points to hit an intraday high of 54,702 and Nifty 50 index was trading firmly above 16,300 levels.
Investor sentiment got a boost after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the country's economic growth is picking up pace again and the domestic industry needs to enhance its risk-taking appetite, analysts said.As of 9:24 am, the Sensex was up 111 points at 54,636 and Nifty 50 index rose 36 points to 16,318.Meanwhile, Asian shares failed to follow a strong close on Wall Street with fears about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus weighing on sentiment even as tame US inflation eased fears the Federal Reserve would rush to reduce its economic support.