Sensex, Nifty Up Firmly In Positive Territory; IT Stocks Shine Again

(RTTNews) - Indian stocks are up firmly in positive territory Wednesday morning after a bright start, with technology and PSU bank stocks hogging the limelight.

Expectations of more reductions in GST rates, and reports about prospects of trade talks between India and the U.S. contribute to the positive mood in the markets. Also, investors are betting on a larger than expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

The BSE benchmark Sensex, which climbed to 81,643.88, was up 407.41 points or 0.5% at 81,508.73 a little while ago.

The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange was up 127.20 points or 0.51% at 24,995.80, after rising to 25,035.70.

Infosys, which closed with a strong gain on Tuesday, is up again this morning, gaining about 1.7%, with investors continuing to pick up the stock, reacting to the buyback news.

HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and TCS are up 2.4%, 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.

Oracle Financial is up nearly 8% after the parent company Oracle Corp shares zoomed nearly 30% in after-hours trading after the company issued an ambitious outlook for its cloud business.

Persistent Systems, Coforge, Mphasis, LTMindtree and Wipro are up 3 to 5%.

BEL is gaining 2.2%, State Bank of India is up 1.8% and Bajaj Finance is gaining about 1.6%, while Kotak Bank, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank are up 1 to 1.1%. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries are up with modest gains.

M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Eternatl, Hind Unilever and Asian Paints are down 0.5 to 1%.

The market breadth is strong. On BSE, 2604 stocks are up in positive territory, while 1193 stocks are weak. 178 stocks are little changed from their previous closing levels.