Mumbai: Indian equity indices experienced a notable upswing on Thursday, buoyed by positive sentiment in Asian markets and favorable US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for April, which showed a modest increase below initial projections.
As of 9:50 a.m., the Sensex surged by 155 points or 0.21 percent, reaching 73,159 points, while the Nifty advanced by 47 points or 0.21 percent, reaching 22,243 points.
Notably, small-cap and mid-cap stocks exhibited greater bullishness compared to large-cap counterparts. The Nifty Midcap 100 index saw a rise of 276 points or 0.54 percent, reaching 50,984 points, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed to 16,559 points, marking an increase of 102 points or 0.62 percent.
The Indian Volatility Index (India VIX) witnessed a marginal decrease, standing at 20.21 points.
Among the Sensex constituents, 20 stocks opened in positive territory, while 10 were in the negative.
Leading the gainers were Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, and Bharti Airtel, while Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, Tata Motors, NTPC, and IndusInd Bank were among the top five losers.
Furthermore, bullish sentiments prevailed in the markets of Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and Hong Kong. Additionally, the softening of CPI figures contributed to gains in the US markets during Wednesday’s session.
Crude oil prices witnessed a moderate increase, with Brent crude trading at $83 per barrel and WTI crude at $79 per barrel.
Market analysts highlighted, “The uptick in Wall Street was spurred by the release of a Labor Department report revealing that consumer prices in the US rose slightly less than anticipated in April.”
“The subdued rise in US consumer prices for April suggests a resumption of the downward trajectory in inflation at the outset of the second quarter, thereby bolstering financial market expectations for a potential interest rate cut in September.”
