Advances in information technology, consumer goods and metal stocks supported the markets Domestic stock markets started Wednesday's session on a higher note, amid a mixed trend in Asian peers, as investors awaited US-China trade developments.
The Sensex rose as much as 197.73 points to 36,640.27 while the Nifty touched 11,052.45, up 65.00 points from the previous close.
The 30-scrip benchmark index crossed the 36,600 mark to register the highest intraday level recorded since February 8.
Advances in banking, information technology and consumer goods stocks supported the markets.
However, weakness in auto stocks such as Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp limited the upside.
Here are 10 things to know about stock markets today:At 9:44 am, the Sensex traded with a gain of 120.86 points and the Nifty was up 46.15 points at 11,033.60.Top gainers on the 50-scrip index at the time were Wipro, Bharti Infratel, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, ITC and State Bank of India (SBI), trading between 1.41per cent and 4.03 per cent higher.Market breadth favoured the gains on the markets, with1,356 stocks on the BSE at the time trading in the positive zone, against 352 that moved lower.Investors are looking for firm details about a possible US-China trade deal that's helped drive a sharp rally in global equities in 2019.
We expect Nifty to follow up on yesterday' dominant session and continue towards 11,100 mark, brokerage Yes Securities said in a note.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he thought the United States and China were "on the cusp" of a deal to end their trade war.He added on Tuesday that "things are in a good place, but it's got to be right".Banking stocks were in focus a day after at least 19 lenders, including ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI), said they were fined by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) for failing to comply with its guidelines on global payments network SWIFT.The RBI imposed the fines over the past four days, according to stock exchange filings by the banks.The Nifty Bank - comprising banking stocks - rose as much as 0.31 per cent in early trade.Equities in other Asian marketsmoved in a tight range, as investors awaited fresh directional cues from US-China trade negotiations.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed.
Australian stocks added 0.2 per cent while Japan's Nikkei declined 0.5 per cent.(With inputs from Reuters)