Equity indices trade higher, PSU banks lead rally

Equity benchmark indices traded half a per cent higher during early hours on Friday with the start of September futures and options series.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex up by 199 points or 0.51 per cent at 39,312 while the Nifty 50 gained by 53 points or 0.53 per cent at 11,612.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty PSU bank gaining by 2.8 per cent, private bank by 1.5 per cent and financial service by 0.9 per cent.

Punjab National Bank was up by 3.5 per cent at Rs 36.55 per share while State Bank of India gained by 1.6 per cent to Rs 219.10.

Axis bank ticked up by 3.8 per cent, IndusInd Bank by 2.7 per cent and ICICI Bank by 2.5 per cent. The other major gainers were Bharti Infratel, UPL, Larsen & Toubro and energy majors like IndianOil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and ONGC.

However, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Adani Ports and Hindustan Lever traded with a negative bias.

Meanwhile, Asian shares rose as investors pondered over the US Federal Reserve's new strategy to adopt an average inflation target and restore the United States to full employment in the fight to contain coronavirus pandemic.

Japan's Nikkei rose by 0.63 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng by 0.75 per cent and South Korea's Kospi by 1.13 per cent. 

-ANI

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