Equity indices in the green, IT and banking stocks in focus

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Equity benchmark indices ticked up during early hours on Friday led by gains in IT and banking stocks.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 321 points or 0.92 per cent at 35,163 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 105 points or 1.02 per cent at 10,393.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone with Nifty IT up by 2.9 per cent, PSU bank by 1.7 per cent and private bank by 0.6 per cent.

Among stocks, IT major Infosys gained by 5 per cent at Rs 736.10 per share. Wipro was up by 3.3 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services by 2.9 per cent, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra by 2.6 per cent each.

IndusInd Bank added gains of 3.9 per cent while IndianOil Corporation moved up by 3.1 per cent. Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindalco too traded with a positive bias.

However, the prominent losers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Lever, Sun Pharma, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were marginally higher as surging coronavirus infections checked hopes for a swift global recovery.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.3 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei rose by 1 per cent. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.4 per cent. Markets in China and Taiwan remain closed. (ANI)