New Delhi: Benchmark indices started the trade on a firm note on Thursday with the Sensex climbing over 542 points tracking a rally in the global equity markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 542.18 points to 56,358.50. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 147.45 points to 16,789.25.
Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers in early trade.
Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo were trading higher, while Hong Kong quoted lower.
The US markets had ended sharply higher on Wednesday.
"Even after the 75 bps (basis points) consecutive rate hike by the Fed and indication that another unusually large increase would be appropriate in the next meeting, the US markets staged a smart bounce back with S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising by 2.62 per cent and 4.06 per cent, respectively," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Siddarth Bhamre, Head of Research, Religare Broking Limited, said, the hike of 75 bps was already discounted by markets but it's the guidance which cheered the US markets which closed higher.
The BSE benchmark had jumped 547.83 points or 0.99 per cent to settle at 55,816.32 on Wednesday. The Nifty had advanced 157.95 points or 0.96 per cent to 16,641.80.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.20 per cent to USD 107.90 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 436.81 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.
"On the domestic front, the monthly F&O expiry today could keep the markets volatile," Prashanth Tapse – Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
(With PTI inputs)
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