Sensex earns 450 opening points, Nifty over 11,350 in early trading | Photo credit: BCCL
New Delhi: India’s benchmark stock indices opened on Thursday with positive global signals. The S&P BSE Sensex Index jumped 453.39 points, or 1.19 percent, to touch 38,521.32 at the strongest level in early trading, shortly after a gap-up opening. The broader benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index rose to 11,373.15, an increase of 125.6 points, or 1.12 percent, from its previous close.
Across sectors, the banking, auto, IT and pharmaceutical indices added one percent each, while the mid- and small-cap indices gained half a percent. The trend among the Nifty sector indices was positive, led by the Nifty Bank index, with an increase of 1.7 percent.
Top winners and losers:
IndusInd Bank, with an increase of more than 3%, was the main winner from Sensex, followed by Bajaj Auto, TechM, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank. ONGC, Nestlé India and NTPC were among the laggards. ONGC, Nestlé India and Oil India each fell 3 percent after the government cut natural gas prices by 25 percent. Of 30 Sensex shares, 27 opened green.
Shares in Reliance Industries rose 1 percent after the company said co-investors from private equity giant Silver Lake will invest an additional Rs 1,875 crore in its retail unit, the latest deal underscoring growing interest from global investors. The company also received a subscription amount of Rs 1,894.50 crore from Intel Cap for Jio platforms and received a subscription amount of Rs 730 crore from Qualcomm for Jio platforms.
PVR and Inox Leisure were up 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively, after the central government said that movie theaters, multiplexes and theaters will be able to open with 50% capacity on ‘Unlock 5 guidelines. ‘announced on Wednesday (September 30).
Raw oil:
Oil prices changed little in early trading Thursday after US lawmakers postponed a vote on a $ 2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package in hopes of reaching a bipartisan deal, while the surge of infections fueled demand fears. While US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 1 cent to $ 40.21 a barrel, after rising 2.4% on Wednesday, Brent crude futures were up 3 cents to 42, $ 33 a barrel, after falling 0.2% overnight.
