SENSEX up over 150 pts, NIFTY hovers around 25,250; RIL gains over 0.5%, Sona BLW rises 3%

Dalal Street witnessed a positive start to trading on Thursday, August 5, amid buying in almost all the sectors.

At 09:18 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading at 82,504.13 levels, up 151 points, or 0.18% while the broader NIFTY50 was ruling at 25,241.65, up 42.95 points, or 0.17%.

UltraTech Cement (up over 1%) was the top gainer on the SENSEX, followed by Tata Steel and ITC. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance (down 0.46%) was the biggest loser.

BUZZING STOCKS

Shares of RIL were trading over 0.5% higher as the company's board would meet today to consider the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 to the equity shareholders of the company.

Besides, the conglomerate has been granted approval to set up a battery manufacturing facility for up to 10 GW under the ₹3,620 crore production linked incentives (PLI) scheme for ACC Battery Storage.

Sona BLW Precision was trading over 3% higher amid reports that the company has launched QIP to raise ₹2,400 crore. The indicative issue price range is ₹675-₹700 per share.

Zomato shares were up nearly 4% at ₹252.25 apiece on the BSE in the early trade.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian share markets tried to regain their footing on Thursday after a steep sell-off, while a rally in Treasuries dented the dollar and lifted the yen as US economic worries raised the odds of the Federal Reserve going big on rate cuts.

Oil prices were steady in early trading after dropping in the previous sessions on weak demand and supply woes, while gold edged higher.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5% to its lowest in three weeks, although tech-heavy Taiwan and South Korean stocks were both 1% higher after sliding on Wednesday. That helped lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.6%, having tumbled nearly 3% over the course of a three-day losing streak.