Sensex rises over 200 pts to reclaim 33,000 mark; Nifty nears 10,200

Team Udayavani, Mar 21, 2018, 10:43 AM IST

Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex reclaimed the 33,000 mark by rising over 200 points in early trade today amid a firm trend in global equities ahead of US Federal Reserve’s policy meet outcome later in the day.

The 30-share index was trading 226.85 points, or 0.69 percent, higher at 33,223.62, with all the sectoral indices in the green. Gains were led by realty, banking and PSU stocks which rose up to 1.50 percent.

The gauge had gained 73.64 points in a volatile session yesterday.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty rose 61.10 points, or 0.60 percent, to 10,185.45.

Major gainers included ONGC, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Infosys, Sun Pharma, L&T, RIL, ITC, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and TCS. The stocks rose by up to 2 percent.

Traders said buying activity picked up on positive cues from other Asian bourses as investors look towards the conclusion of US Federal Reserve policy meet due tonight.

Short-covering by speculators too supported the rally, they added.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 344.16 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 731.17 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.25 percent, while Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.40 percent in early trade today. Financial markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.47 percent higher in yesterday’s trade.