Sensex, Nifty50 hold on to initial gains supported by financial, auto stocks; Sun Pharma hits record high

Share Market News: Domestic equity benchmarks held on to positive territory in late morning deals on Thursday following a relatively stronger start to the session. Buying across sectors helped main gauges stay afloat with financial and auto stocks being at the forefront of the upmove. Both headline indices gained as much as 0.6 per cent in early deals before losing some momentum. The Sensex gained as much as 463.7 points to touch 81,986.9 on the upside while the Nifty50 climbed to 25,072.6, up 154.1 points from its previous close. 

At 11:30 am, the 30-scrip index was left with a gain of 194.5 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 81,717.7 and the Nifty50 was up 80 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 24,998.5. 

Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Apollo Hospitals, ONGC, and NTPC, trading between 1.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent higher, rose the most among the 37 gainers in the Nifty50 basket. On the other hand, Nestle India, Tata Motors, TCS, Divi's Labs, ITC, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finserv, trading between 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent lower, were the top blue-chip losers.

Among index heavyweights, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel contributed the most toe the gains in main indices, while stocks like TCS and ICICI Bank limited the upside. 

The 12-scrip Nifty Bank gauge gained as much as 0.6 per cent to 51,307.1 during the session, driven by strength in HDFC Bank, SBI, and Bank of Baroda. 

Sun Pharma shares gained as much as 0.8 per cent to an all-time high of Rs 1,862 apiece on BSE, surpassing a peak registered the previous day.

ALSO READ: Milestones on D-Street | Bajaj Auto, Britannia, Chola Investment, Divi's Labs, Persistent Systems, Shriram Finance & other stocks hit 52-week highs 

Midcap and smallcap stocks also contributed to the overall rise in the market, as reflected in gains of about half a per cent in the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices in late morning deals. 

Overall market breadth remained in favour of the bulls, with an advance-decline ratio of 6:5 as on BSE. 

Globally, investors awaited key inflation and employment readings from the world's largest economy due this week for more clarity on the course of benchmark interest rates. 

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