Equity indices in the green, banking and financial stocks gain

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Equity benchmark indices continued upward momentum during early hours on Wednesday in line with positive global cues.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 333 points or 0.99 per cent at 34,159 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 106 points or 1.06 per cent at 10,085.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone with Nifty private bank up by 3.1 per cent, PSU bank by 2.6 per cent and financial service by 1.3 per cent.

Among stocks, IndiGo’s parent company InterGlobe Aviation jumped by 10 per cent to Rs 1,040.10 per share despite the company reporting a net loss of Rs 871 crore in the quarter ended March.

Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance gained by 5.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively while Britannia was up by 4.7 per cent at Rs 3,613.95 per share. A day earlier, the FMCG major had reported 32 per cent rise in its Q4 net profit at Rs 381 crore.

ICICI Bank ticked up by 3.8 per cent, Axis Bank by 3.4 per cent, HDFC Bank by 2.5 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank by 2 per cent. The other prominent gainers were Tata Motors, Hindalco and Tech Mahindra.

But those which lost were Bharti Infratel, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Hindustan Lever and Coal India.

Meanwhile, Asian shares rose to a near three-month high amid hopes of more stimulus and a further easing in social restrictions around the world from coronavirus lockdown.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained by 1.3 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei rose by 1.2 per cent to its highest level since late February. (ANI)