Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Dec.23: In response to strong global cues, Indian equity indexes rose on Thursday, led by increases in Adani Ports, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), and Bajaj Finance. The safe-haven currency was on the back foot in early Asian trading as markets cheered favourable indicators about the impact of the omicron form of Covid-19 and positive economic data from the United States.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan jumped 0.3 percent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan rose 0.6 percent, marking the third straight day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.74 percent overnight, while the S&P 500 increased by 1.02 percent and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.18 percent.
Back at home, the 30-share Sensex was up 506 points, or 0.89 percent, at 57,437 at 9:56 a.m., while the wider NSE Nifty was up 148 points, or 0.88 percent, at 17,104.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.87 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 1.04 percent, indicating that mid- and small-cap stocks were trading in the green.
On a stock-by-stock basis, Bajaj Finance was the highest Nifty gainer, rising 2.64 percent to 6,950.05. Among the winners were Adani Ports, IOC, Power Grid Co, and Wipro.
Divi’s Lab, UPL, and Asian Paints, on the other hand, were among the losers.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was positive, with 2,222 shares gaining and 652 decreasing.
Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Power Grid Co, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, ITC, and NTPC saw the highest increases on the BSE platform, with their shares increasing as much as 2.45% in early trade.
On Wednesday, the Sensex rose 612 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 56,931, while the NSE Nifty rose 185 points, or 1.10 percent, to settle at 16,955.
After falling as much as 3% on Monday, the BSE and NSE indices both gained roughly 1% on Tuesday.
