Domestic share markets rose to a one-week high on Thursday, ahead of the expiry of April derivative contracts, with index heavyweights UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries hitting record highs.
The SP BSE Sensex index jumped as much as 207.54 points to 39,262.22 in late morning deals, the broader NSE Nifty clocked an intraday high of 11,796.75, up 70.6 points from the previous close.
At 11:47 am, the Sensex traded 163.81 points, or 0.42 per cent, higher at 39,218.49 while the Nifty was up 63.25 points at 11,789.40.The rupee, meanwhile, was under pressure due to a recent rise in crude prices.
The currency fell 0.34 per cent to 70.11 against the dollar on Thursday, its weakest level in nearly seven weeks.In the Asian markets, shares slipped as a surprise deterioration in German and South Korean economic data rekindled fears of slowing global growth, while oil prices pulled back slightly after a sharp run-up earlier in the week.UltraTech Cement shares rose as much as 5.3 per cent and were the top gainer on the Nifty.
The stock was up 4.7 per cent in the previous session.
The cement maker on Wednesday said profit for the March quarter more than doubled to Rs 1,017 crore ($145.25 million), beating expectations.UltraTech's parent Grasim Industries jumped 5 per cent to its highest since October 9, 2018.Reliance Industries climbed 1.6 per cent to a record high, and was on track for a third straight session of gain."Overall, markets will be volatile as crude prices are at elevated levels and as the domestic elections line up," said Siddharth Sedani, equity advisory head at brokerage Anand Rathi.Bharti Infratel fell as much as 4.7 per cent - its worst intraday drop since January 24 - after the telecom tower operator missed expectations for quarterly profit.Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.
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