Equity indices trade higher, PSU stocks gain

Equity benchmark indices were marginally higher during early hours on Wednesday with PSU stocks witnessing buying interest among traders.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 128 points or 0.24 per cent at 52,403 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 42 points or 0.27 per cent to 15,782.

Except for Nifty auto which slipped slightly, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty PSU bank ticking up by 1.8 per cent, realty by 1.4 per cent and pharma by 0.8 per cent.

Among stocks, ONGC gained by 1.3 per cent to Rs 126.50 per share while Bharat Petroleum Corporation added 0.8 per cent.

State Bank of India, SBI Life, Power Grid Corporation, Cipla, HDFC Bank and UPL were also in the positive terrain.

However, among the laggards were Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Britannia and Reliance Industries.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were in the red. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan ticked down 0.15 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei average shed 0.25 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was a bit lower by 0.05 per cent.

(ANI)

Also Read: Want to take benefits of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana? Here’s how to apply