Equity indices trade higher, autos in focus
Mumbai, Maharashtra: Equity benchmark indices traded higher during early hours on Friday on the back of favorable global cues amid progress in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 470 points or 0.97 percent at 48,910 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 152 points or 1.06 percent to 14,477. Except for Nifty pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green zone with Nifty metal up by 1.6 percent, realty by 1.6 percent, auto by 1.4 percent, and FMCG by 1.2 percent.
Among stocks, Bajaj Finserv gained by 3.3 percent to Rs 9,359.95 per share while Tata Motors accelerated by 2.9 percent and Bajaj Auto by 2.5 percent.
Hindustan Lever, Tata Steel, HDFC, and Hindalco also traded with a positive bias. However, those which lost marginally were ONGC, Reliance Industries, Power Grid Corporation, Dr. Reddy's, and Cipla. Meanwhile, Asian shares bounced back from a three-month low after a late-day rally on Wall Street. MSCI's ex-Japan Asia index rose by 0.37 percent after hitting a near three-month low a day earlier. Japan's Nikkei rose by 0.89 percent.
