Fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher.
Domestic equity benchmarks (Sensex and Nifty) edged higher led by gains in Larsen Toubro, HDFC, ITC, NTPC and HDFC Bank.
The SP BSE Sensex rose as much as 137 points or 0.36 per cent to 38,524.09 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose above its psychologically important level of 11,550 as the index advanced 0.39 per cent or 45 points to 11,566.
In Wednesday's session, the Sensex and Nifty took a breather after a seven-day up move as they ended little changed owing to weekly expiry of derivative contracts.
Here are 10 things to know:As of 9:23 am, the Sensex traded 0.21 per cent or 79 points higher at 38,466 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 0.29 per cent or 34 points to 11,555.Gains were capped as ONGC, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra Mahindra and HCL Technologies came under selling pressure.Fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the SP BSE Telecom Index's 1.9 per cent gain.
SP BSE Capital Goods, SP BSE Power and SP BSE Utilities Indexes also rose between 0.9 and 1.3 per cent each.On the flipside, SP BSE Information Technology Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.51 per cent tracking strength in the rupee against the US dollar.
Energy and oil gas indexes were also trading lower.The rupee rose 0.35 per cent or 24 paise to 68.60 against the US dollar.Mid- and small-cap shares were witnessing buying interest as the SP BSE MidCap Index rose 0.53 per cent and the SP BSE SmallCap Index advanced 0.37 per cent.In the Nifty 50 basket of shares, 34 were advancing while 16 were declining.
Bharti Airtel was top gainer in the Nifty 50 basket of shares.
The stock rose 3 per cent to Rs 344.
Larsen Toubro, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Yes Bank, Titan, NTPC and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.On the other hand, Zee Entertainment, ONGC, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.The overall market breadth was positive as 1,017 shares were advancing while 643 were declining on the BSE.The foreign institutional investors continue to buy shares in Indian equity markets.
In Wednesday's session alone the foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 1,771.61 crore, according to National Stock Exchange.Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.
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