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The benchmark indices have build on the gains garnered at opening bell due to strength in index heavyweights such as Axis Bank, HDFC and RIL.
At 10.25am, the Sensex was at 28,357, higher by 157 points or 0.5% and the Nifty was inching towards the 8,600 mark at 8,572, up 48 points.
The broader markets are outperforming their largecap peers. The BSE Mid-cap index is trading at a lifetime high of 11,121, stronger by 70 points 0.6%. Adani Power is the top gainer in the mid-cap space. The stock jumped 3.4% to Rs 29 after the company said that it bagged three power transmission projects worth Rs 3,666 crore. IDBI, Castrol India, Yes Bank and HPCL have added 1-2% each to emerge as the other significant midcap gainers.
The Mid-cap index has surpassed its record high of 11,117, touched in intra-day trades three months ago on April 16, 2015. Since June 11, 2016, the S&P BSE Mid-cap index has outperformed the other indices to gain around 10%; the S&P BSE Small-cap index has gained 9% and the S&P BSE Sensex has added 6.8% during the same period. And the BSE Small-cap index has gained 0.6% at 11,648.
The markets had staged a stellar rally on Wednesday, with the Nifty regaining 8,500 and Sensex zooming more than 250 points.
Meanwhile, on the global front, the US Fed Chair Janet Yellen signalled of a possible rate hike this year provided the labour market and the US economy is on track of improvement. The Greece parliament approved the austerity measures to keep Greece in the euro zone.
ECONOMY
Merchandise exports in June contracted 15.82% to $22.28 billion compared to $26.47 billion in the same month last year. This was for the seventh straight month that shipments from India witnessed a decline mainly on account of weaker demand largely due to crisis in China and Greece. In May, the rate of decline of exports was higher at 20.19%.
The government cut the price of petrol by Rs 2 per litre (excluding state levies) and diesel by Rs 2 per litre (excluding state levies). This makes it the second reduction in the fuel price this month as the prices were last revised on July 1.
RUPEE
The rupee opened lower in early trade on Thursday. It slipped 9 paise to 63.50 per dollar against the previous day's closing value of 63.41 a dollar.
OIL
Oil prices rose on Thursday morning after data showed that US crude inventories dropped and refinery demand was high. Front-month US crude futures were trading at $51.71 per barrel, up 30 cents from their last settlement. Front-month brent crude was up 39 cents at $57.44 a barrel.
US crude inventories fell 4.3 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as refineries boosted throughput to a record level.
SECTORS AND STOCKS
All the sectoral indices are in the green, with the exception of the IT space. Banking and oil stocks are leading the gains on the BSE.
Among the index heavyweights, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and HDFC are the top gainers on the BSE, while Cipla, L&T and Gail have edged lower.
On the sectoral front, the BSE banking and oil indices have gained more than 1% each.
In the banking space, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahinda Bank have firmed up by 1-2% each.
Among oil stocks, HPCL, BPCL, IOC and RIL have strengthened by 1-2% each.
On the other hand, the IT space is seeing some profit-booking post its recent gains. Wipro, TCS and Infosys have edged lower by upto 0.5% each.
On the stock-specific front, South Indian Bank has dipped 6% to Rs 23.85 on the BSE after the bank reported a sharp 48% year-on-year (yoy) decline in standalone net profit at Rs 65 crore for the quarter ended June 2015 (Q1). The private sector lender had posted a profit of Rs 127 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
VA Tech Wabag has rallied nearly 5% at Rs 793 after bagging orders worth more than Rs 1,000 crore during the April-June (Q1) quarter.
Hatsun Agro Product has surged 14% to Rs 448 after reporting a nearly four-fold jump in net profit at Rs 28.69 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 (Q1).
Among the result candidates for the day, Mastek has surged by 7% at Rs 202, while Mindtree has gained 0.1% at Rs 1236 and DB Corp has added 1% at Rs 323 ahead of their Q1 numbers scheduled to be announced dduring the day.
The market breadth is strong. Out of 2,120 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,336 advancing stocks as against 701 declines.
