Sensex up 600pts, Nifty atop 22150; Tata Steel, L&T lead
Positive global cues, and a faster-than-expected growth in India’s GDP aided an upmove on Dalal Street in Friday’s intra-day deals.
The S&P BSE Sensex opened with a gap of over 100 points at 72,606, and soon rallied over 400 points to quote around 72,900 levels. The NSE Nifty 50 was trading 130 points higher above 22,100 levels.
Among the Sensex 30 shares, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and JSW Steel were up nearly 2 per cent each. Tata Motors, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro and Power Grid were the other major gainers. On the flip side, Sun Pharma slipped 0.8 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index advanced 0.7 per cent, while the SmallCap surged 1 per cent.
On Thursday post market hours, India reported a faster-than-expected 8.4 per cent growth in Q3 GDP led by government capex spending. Meanwhile, the National Statistical Office (NSO), which releases the data, revised upwards FY24 growth estimate to 7.6 per cent from the 7.3 per cent projected in January. Growth was lar
India’s core sector output, which measures production by eight key industries, grew by 3.6 per cent in January, a 15-month low.
Special Trading Session on Saturday
Finally, do remember, this is an extended trading week with the markets open on Saturday as stock exchanges test their Disaster Recovery preparedness.
Normal trading will be in two sessions on Saturday March 02, from 09:15 to 10:00 AM followed by 11:30 to 12:30 noon.
Global cues for the Day
In Asia this morning, Japan’s Nikkei soared 1.3 per cent. Most others, were trading on a flat note.
Overnight, the US markets ended higher as inflation data supported views of interest rate cut. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh record highs and ended with most gains for February in a decade.
On Thursday, Nasdaq jumped 0.9 per cent, the S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent and Dow added 0.1 per cent. raised hopes of a likely rate slightly lower a day ahead of a key inflation reading that could heavily influence expectations on timing of rate cuts. Dow and the S&P 500 were marginally in red, while Nasdaq slipped 0.6 per cent.
January’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred measurement for inflation – saw headline cool to 2.4 per cent.
The 10-year US Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.26.4 per cent. Whereas, Brent Crude Oil futures consolidated around $82 per barrel and Bitcoin stood firmly above the $60,000-mark for the second straight day.