Equity indices gain on positive global cues, pharma and auto stocks up
Mumbai, Maharashtra: Equity benchmark indices gained about half a percent during early hours on Tuesday amid positive global cues with pharma and auto stocks gaining ground. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 276 points or 0.56 percent at 49,435 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 98 points or 0.67 percent to 14,736. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green zone with Nifty metal and pharma up by 1.2 percent each, auto by 0.9 percent, and realty by 0.8 percent.
Among stocks, JSW Steel was up by 3 percent to Rs 533 per share. Auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors gained by 2 percent each while pharma giants Cipla, Dr. Reddy's, and Sun Pharma ticked up by 1.5 percent. Asian Paints, Power Grid Corporation, Bajaj Finance, and SBI Life too traded with a positive bias. However, those which lost were Titan, Grasim, HCL Technologies, and Britannia.
Meanwhile, Asia's stock markets were mixed despite another batch of strong US economic data bolstered the global outlook. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan advanced by 0.4 percent to a two-week high while Tokyo's Nikkei was down by 1.22 percent.
