Markets volatile; Sensex surges over 100 points, Nifty above 8,750

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap mirroed the gains in frontline indices

In a volatile trading session, the benchmark indices on Thursday turned positive in the afternoon trade, contributed by gains in Sun Pharma and Maruti Suzuki.

Asian markets surging to one-and-a-half year highs thanks to an extended rally on Wall Street and strong US data, also contributed to the gains. 

At 11:55 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,269, up 113 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,765, up 41 points. 

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap outperformed the frontline indices and rose 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively. 

“Going forward, we expect buying emerging at lower levels. The next support after 8,715 would be seen at 8,670 and hence, traders are advised not to create fresh short positions at current level. Rather use this dips to create fresh longs in the market. On the upside, 8,754 – 8,784 are seen as immediate resistance zone,” said Angel Broking in a technical note. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Sun Pharma gained over 2% to lead on the Sensex after falling over 4% in the previous session after the company reported a 4.72% decline in consolidated net profit for the December quarter.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose over 2% to Rs 2,477 after the company said it will consider a buyback of equity shares at its board meeting scheduled for February 20. The buyback, if approved, will be the company's first since its listing in 2004.

The stock of Infosys also surged over 1% to Rs 996.

SBI gained over 2% to Rs 277 after the Cabinet approved the merger of five associate banks with the State Bank of India (SBI), which will catapult any bank from India to among the top 50 global lenders for the first time. The merger does not include Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

V-Mart Retail hit record high of Rs 718, up 7% in intra-day trade, extending its previous day’s 7% surge after one of the promoter of the company sold part of his stake via open market.

Trade deficit narrows 

Rising for the fifth straight month, merchandise exports grew by 4.32% in January as compared to the 5.7% rise seen in the previous month of December.

Exports registered $ 22.11 billion in January after reaching a 21-month high in absolute terms in December to $23.88 billion, according to data issued by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday.

However, imports grew by 10.70% to $31.95 billion, the highest pace seen in more than two years, on account of a sharp uptick in international crude prices.

Global markets

Asian stocks edged up to fresh 19-month highs on Thursday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2%, rising to its highest since July 2015. Australian stocks advanced 0.4%, China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend to lose 0.6%. 

Overnight, Wall Street closed at fresh highs Wednesday for a fifth-straight day as traders continued to bet on a pro-growth agenda under president Donald Trump.