The domestic stock markets have a gap-up opening, buoyed by the strong closing on Wall Street on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said that the US economy is heading for its strongest growth in nearly 40 years. At 9:25 am, the BSE Sensex is trading at 50,219.85, higher by 422 points or 0.82 per cent and the NSE Nifty is at 14,850.75, up 132.15 points or 0.85 per cent.
The broader markets are also trading strong in tandem with the benchmark indices; the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index have aded 0.8 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at record highs after the Fed predicted a fast economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and said it would maintain its interest rate at close to zero.
The Dow Jones closed above 33,000 points for the first time, rising 0.58 per cent to end at 33,015.37 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.29 per cent to 3,974.12 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 per cent to 13,525.20.
Meanwhile, oil prices dropped for a fifth day on Thursday after official data showed a sustained rise in U.S. crude and fuel inventories, while the ever-present pandemic clouded the demand outlook.
Brent crude was down 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $67.88 a barrel after dropping by 0.6 per cent on Wednesday. U.S. oil was also down 12 cents or 0.2 per cent at $64.48 a barrel, having fallen 0.3 per cent in the previous session.
On the stock-specific front, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are the top gainers on the BSE, adding 2 per cent each. ONGC, GAIL, M&M and Bajaj Auto are the other significant gainers among Sensex stocks.
On the other hand, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, Divi’s Lab and Britannia have lost around a per cent each on the BSE.