Sensex climbs 200 pts, Nifty advances to 19,845; pharma, healthcare stocks shine

Domestic indices opened higher on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps to 5.25-5.5 per cent, highest in 16 years.

BSE benchmark Sensex opened 126.92 points, or, 0.19 per cent higher at 66,834.12, while broader NSE Nifty50 opened at 19,850.90, up 72.6 points, or 0.36 per cent higher.

By 9.25 am, Sensex was trading 215.21 points, or 0.32 per cent higher at 66,922.41, and Nifty was trading 67.10 points, or 0.34 per cent higher at 19,845.40.

Broader markets were outperforming the key indices, as Nifty Smallcap 250 gained 0.50 per cent, Nifty Microcap 250 jumped 0.56 per cent, Nifty Midcap Select rose 0.43 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 0.42 per cent, and Nifty Midcap 50 jumped 0.43 per cent.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to the Sensex, as private bank index rose 0.38 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Healthcare Index jumped 1.61 per cent, and pharma gained 1.70 per cent, Nifty Metal climbed 0.96 per cent, and Nifty Financial Services 25/50 rose 0.53 per cent.

Cipla, Hindalco, Divis Lab, Apollo, Sun Pharma, SBI Life, LT, BPCL, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, and Asian Paints were the top gainers in the opening session.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, M&M, Tata Consumers, Britannia, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Nestle India, ONGC, Dr Reddy’s and HDFC Life were the top losers at this hour.