SENSEX up 100 pts, NIFTY50 tests 24,650; Bajaj Housing Finance slips 6%, Vedanta rises 1%

At 9:30 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading at 81,635.73, up 110 points, or 0.13%, while the broader NIFTY50 index was trading at 24,658.25, up 16 points, or 0.07%. 

The top five gainers on the NIFTY50 index were Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Wipro, and IndusInd Bank. The top five losers were Apollo Hospitals, SBI Life, Titan Company, Trent, and Tata Motors. 

On the SENSEX, Tech Mahindra (up 2.3%) was the top gainer, followed by Bharti Airtel and TCS. 

The biggest loser was Tita Company (down 1%). 

Buzzing Stocks

The initial public offering (IPO) of Bajaj Housing Finance, which was launched in September, was a blockbuster hit as the issue received a bumper demand from investors.

Broader Market

The BSE MidCap index was trading at 48,082.40, down 2.33 points, while the BSE SmallCap index was trading at 57,574.20, down 129 points, or 0.22%. 

Sector Watch

Most sectoral indices were trading with losses. However, IT stocks were the leading gainers in the early trade. The BSE Information Technology index was trading at 45,644.72, up 1.12%. 

On the contrary, capital goods, power, and commodity stocks were the notable losers.

Global Markets

Asian stocks gained on Thursday, tracking Wall Street's tech-led rally overnight after an as-expected reading of US consumer inflation cemented bets for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week.

Japan's Nikkei topped 40,000 for the first time since mid-October, led by advances in chip-sector shares. The exporter-heavy index also got a boost from a weakening yen, as traders pared bets for a Bank of Japan rate hike next week.

South Korea's KOSPI added 0.7%, while Taiwan's benchmark gained 1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4%, and mainland blue chips were 0.2% higher.

Overnight, the tech-focused Nasdaq shot up 1.8% to close above 20,000 for the first time, while the S&P climbed 0.8%. Futures for both indexes, however, pointed to 0.2% declines.