Sensex rises 370 pts, Nifty above 25,100; Bajaj Finserv, RIL lead index gainers

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 opened higher on Thursday, extending their winning run to the sixth session. This is even as stock investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where markets are looking for cues on the Fed rate trajectory.

At 9:23 am, the BSE Sensex was up 101.38 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 81,959.22 after gaining as much as 373 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty50 advanced 37.70 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 25,088.25, having touched a day’s high of 25,144.85.

Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Limited, said the Indian benchmark indices are expected to open on a flat to positive note today, as indicated by the GIFT Nifty, which signals an uptick of around 25 points in the Nifty 50. 

“Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic but continues to be influenced by persistent volatility and mixed global cues. In the previous session, the Nifty opened flat and faced initial pressure, but buying from lower levels helped it reclaim the 25,000 mark, hitting an intraday high of 25,088.70 before closing at 25,050,” Shinde said.

Among Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv led gainers, rising 1.43 per cent to Rs 1,985.40. Reliance Industries climbed 0.85 per cent. Other gainers included Tata Motors (up 0.52 per cent), Larsen & Toubro (up 0.50 per cent) and Trent (up 0.49 per cent)

Shares of Godrej Properties Ltd rose 1.53 per cent to Rs 2072.30 in Thursday’s trade after the Mumbai-based real estate major announced an agreement to acquire a 7 per cent equity stake in Godrej Skyline Developers from an existing shareholder.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said an interesting trend in the market is the steady up move in India in contrast to the down trend in the U.S. While concerns of potential rising inflation in the U.S. is weighing on the market there, the bold reform initiatives in India and the sustained money flows into the market are imparting resilience to the market. 

“With retail inflation in India remaining much lower than expected ( 1.55 per cent in July) another rate cut by the MPC is possible soon even though the RBI is cautious in the context of heightened global uncertainty,” Vijayakumar said.

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex climbed 213.45 points, or 0.26 per cent, to close at 81,857.84, while the NSE Nifty50 advanced 69.90 points, or 0.28 per cent, to settle at 25,050.55.