file. , Photo Credit: PTI
Equity benchmark indices climbed in early trade on May 18, reversing two days of losses, amid a rally in global stock markets and steady foreign fund inflows.
In early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 395.26 points to reach 61,955.90 points. NSE Nifty jumped 115.45 points to reach 18,297.20.
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Nestle, HDFC and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors were the losers.
In Asia, bourses in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green.
On Wednesday, the US market closed with a good gain.
On Wednesday, optimistic US President Joe Biden declared he was confident the US would avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans had been productive.
Domestic markets are likely to edge higher in early trade on Thursday after US President Biden expressed confidence in achieving a debt-ceiling agreement.
“The silver lining from yesterday’s weak stock market was that FIIs remained net buyers on Dalal Street, buying shares worth Rs 16,520 crore in the current month so far,” said Prashant Tapase, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd. In his pre-opening market remarks.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 149.33 crore on Wednesday as they continued their buying activity.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.17% to $76.83 per barrel.
Falling for the second straight session on Wednesday, the 30-share BSE benchmark closed 371.83 points, or 0.60%, lower at 61,560.64. The Nifty closed 104.75 points, or 0.57%, down at 18,181.75.
“Market remains fragile with both bullish and bearish signals. Profit booking and creation of short positions at higher levels are bearish signals. But optimism about resolution of US debt ceiling impasse is a bullish signal,” VK Vijayakumar, said chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.