Sensex, Nifty trade higher amid positive global cues

Mumbai: Indian equity indices opened in the green on Thursday, following positive global cues from Asian and US markets.

At 9:54 a.m., Sensex was up 236 points or 0.29 per cent at 81,759 and Nifty was up 89 points or 0.36 per cent at 25,007.

Buying was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 361 points or 0.61 per cent at 59,299 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 107 points or 0.65 per cent at 19,238.

Deven Mehata, Derivative analyst of Choice Broking said: "After a gap-up opening, Nifty can find support at 25,000 followed by 24,900 and 24,800. On the higher side, 25,150 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,250 and 25,300."

Almost all sectoral indices were trading in the green. IT, PSU Bank, pharma, FMCG, metal and energy were major gainers.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra, Wipro, NTPC, JSW Steel, SBI, Infosys, Power Grid, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank were top gainers. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Nestle, and M&M were top losers.

Most of the Asian markets are trading at a brisk pace. Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta are in green. Shanghai and Hong Kong are in the red. American markets closed in the green on Wednesday.

Market experts said: "Latest US inflation numbers are mildly positive for markets. August CPI inflation coming at 0.2 per cent has brought down the 12-month inflation to 2.5 per cent from 2.9 per cent earlier. This paves the way for a rate cut by the Fed in September. But since core inflation continues to remain high at 3.2 per cent the Fed is likely to be cautious and refrain from a 50bp rate cut, finally settling for a 25bp rate cut."

"In brief, the benign inflation conditions and prospects for rate cuts are positives for stock markets," they added.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying as they bought equities worth Rs 1,755 crore on September 11, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 230 crore on the same day.