Sensex rises over 150 pts; Nifty nears 11,500

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex advanced over 150 points on Wednesday driven by gains in energy and banking stocks amid sustained fund inflow and positive cues from global equities.

The 30-share index was trading 158.41 points, or 0.41 per cent, higher at 38,664.50 at 0930 hours. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 50.75 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 11,479.05.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Bajaj Finance, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and ONGC, rising up to 3 per cent.

On the other hand, Vedanta, PowerGrid, ITC, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Asian Paints, L&T and TCS fell up to 1.50 per cent.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed 291.62 points, or 0.76 per cent, higher at 38,506.09, while the Nifty rose 87.15 points, or 0.77 per cent, to settle at 11,428.30.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net buyers in the capital market, infusing Rs 436.02 on Tuesday, and domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 929.39 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note, while those in Shanghai were in the red.

Exchanges on Wall Street ended significantly higher on Tuesday amid positive news on the US-China trade front and hopes of a Brexit deal this week.

"News that the trade dispute between US and China is nearing the end has lifted global markets," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

Further, domestic investors are pricing in the positive commentary from corporates this earnings season, he added.

Market experts are also of the view that the central bank will continue with its accommodative policy stance and may go for further rate cut in the policy review of December 2019, as retail inflation moved up in September.

According to traders, sustained domestic and foreign fund inflow has also boosted investor sentiment.

The rupee, meanwhile, depreciated 12 paise against its previous close to trade at 71.66 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.26 per cent to USD 58.89 per barrel.