Equity indices surge on global cues, Reliance Industries hits record high

Equity benchmark indices edged higher by about 1 per cent on firm global cues with IT and auto stocks witnessing handsome gains.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 292 points or 0.8 per cent at 36,886 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 95 points or 0.88 per cent at 10,863.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty IT gaining by 1.2 per cent, auto by 1.1 per cent, FMCG and metal by 0.8 per cent each.

Among stocks, index heavyweight Reliance Industries touched a record high of Rs 1,929.90 per cent, up 2.76 per cent from its previous close, after announcing a day earlier that Qualcomm Inc will buy a 0.15 per cent stake in its digital unit Jio Platforms for Rs 730 crore.

IT major Tech Mahindra moved up by 3.1 per cent, Infosys by 1.7 per cent and HCL Technologies by 1.2 per cent. Auto stocks also surged ahead with Tata Motors accelerating by 2.6 per cent and Maruti by 1.2 per cent.

The other prominent gainers were Britannia, Hindalco, JSW Steel and Tata Steel. However, home loan lender HDFC and HDFC Bank lost marginally.

Meanwhile, Asian shares crept toward five-month peaks as investors hoped the US earnings season will see most companies beat forecasts given expectations had been lowered so far by coronavirus lockdowns.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.15 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 1.7 per cent and South Korea 1.2 per cent even as some US states reported record new cases of COVID-19.

-ANI