INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Indian equities opened higher on Thursday, with buying in select heavyweights including HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and Axis
The market barometer Sensex remained on the upward trajectory, underpinned by capital inflows in the light of hopes that the RBI may go for
a rate cut as the inflation remained under the central bank's projection.
Going by the historical trend, the market is witnessing a
pre-election rally, backed by improved prospects that Narendra Modi government will win another term after the general elections of 2019
However, weak Asian cues remain an overhang
Asian shares were lacklustre as investors turned cautious after China's industrial output fell to a 17-year low in the first two months of
the year.
Around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex was 143 points, or 0.38 per cent, up at 37,895, while Nifty was 34 points, or 0.30 per cent, up at
11,375.
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were 0.43 per cent and 0.37 per cent up, respectively, at that time.
Among the 31 shares (including
Tata Motors DVR) in the Sensex index, 20 were in the green and 11 in the red
YES Bank, Sun Pharma, Larsen Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC were among the top gainers in the Sensex kitty around that time
On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were among the top losers
Among the sectoral indices on BSE, FMCG, utilities, auto, consumer durables and power were in the red
Capital goods, bank and finance indices climbed up to half-a-percent.
Shares of HDFC Bank touched 52-week high of Rs 2,247.25 as it became
the third listed entity to achieve a market cap of Rs 6 lakh crore after Reliance Industries and TCS
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Rs 2,722.28 crore worth of domestic stocks on Wednesday, data available with NSE
DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,508.14 crore, data suggested
