Mumbai, Jul 2 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Wednesday amid optimism around a possible trade agreement with the US.
Buying in IT blue-chip stocks also drove the equity markets higher during the initial trade.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 236.56 points to 83,933.85 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 66.3 points to 25,608.10.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors were among the biggest gainers.
However, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
India’s manufacturing sector growth rose to a 14-month high of 58.4 in June marked by improved trends in output and new orders, alongside a record upturn in employment, a monthly survey said on Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index – an indicator of sector performance – was 57.6 in May.
“The market is expected to open on a positive note, supported by strong domestic cues such as a 14-month high in manufacturing PMI, a narrowing trade deficit, and optimism around a potential trade agreement with the US,” Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said in his pre-market views.
Gross GST collection increased by 6.2 per cent to over Rs 1.84 lakh crore in June but slipped below the Rs 2 lakh crore mark recorded in the previous two months. The GST mop-up stood at Rs 1.74 lakh crore a year ago, as per government data released on Tuesday.
“After breaking the 24,500-25,000 range Nifty has moved to the new range of 25,200-25,800. Positive news about a possible trade deal between India and the US can help break the upper limit of the range but it would be difficult to sustain the Nifty at higher levels for long. A surprise element is the resilience of the US economy and corporate earnings, which in turn is imparting resilience to the US market, despite the tariffs,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index were trading lower while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted higher.
The US markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude traded 0.06 per cent up at USD 67.15 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,970.14 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
In the previous trading session, the Sensex rose by 90.83 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 83,697.29. The Nifty gained 24.75 points or 0.10 per cent to close at 25,541.80.
