Markets at day's high: Sensex gains 100 points; Telecom up 2%

Telecom was the top secoral gainer led by gains in Tata Communication, Idea and Bharti Airtel

Benchmark indices were trading higher with Nifty testing 8,750 as investors remain optimictic after Budget which helped markets gain nearly 2% in yesterday’s session. The Street also awaits RBI policy due next week.

 

At 2:04 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,242, up 100 point, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 8,733, up 16 points.

 

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index outperformed the headline indices to rise 0.9% and 1% respectively.

Telecom sector index was the top secoral gainer led by gains in Tata Communication, Idea and Bharti Airtel.

 

Auto stocks dropped on Thursday after reporting lower January sales, with the BSE Auto index falling over 1%.

 

Tata Motors fell 2.14% after the auto major posted a 1% fall in total sales in January at 46,349 units compared to 47,035 units in the same month last year.  M&M, Bajaj Auto and Hero Moto Corp also fell 1.4%-2.6% on January auto sales.

 

Infosys rebounded today, gaining over 2% after losses in previous two consecutive sessions due to H1-B visa woes.

 

Shares of oil & gas stocks gained up to 2% after Jaitley announced to create an integrated public sector oil major to enhance their capacity to bear higher risks. Reacting to the development, the BSE oil & gas index rose as much as 1.5% to 13223 in an otherwise flat market.

 

Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s, Infosys, NTPC and Axis bank were the top movers on Sensex.

ITC has moved higher to its lifetime high of Rs 280, up 4% in early morning trade, extending its previous days nearly 5% rally on the BSE, after a lower than expected hike in excise duty on cigarettes in Budget.

Also, ITC, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant has surpasses the HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender in overall market capitalization (m-cap) ranking.

 

Asian shares meanwhile hit four-months highs after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, without giving a firm signal on the timing of its next rate move.