The Nifty's IT index was 0.04per cent down at that time.The domestic stock markets broke out of the range-bound trading in afternoon trade ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data and quarterly results of IT majors TCS and Infosys.
The SP BSE Sensex rose as much as 195 points to intraday high of 38,802 and the NSE Nifty50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) advanced 55 points to reclaim its crucial psychological level of 11,650.
ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and Vedanta were the leading gainers in the 30-share Sensex.As of 2:34 pm, the Sensex traded 0.39 per cent or 159 points higher at 38,765 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 0.39 per cent or 45 points to 11,642.Top laggards on the 50-scrip index at the time were Bharti Airtel, Indian Oil, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Larsen Tourbo and Tata Motors, trading between 1.26 and 1.62 per cent lower.The Nifty's IT index was 0.04per cent down at that time.
TCS and Infosys are expected to post a year-on-year gain in profit in its quarterly results duelater in the day, according to news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv Eikon data.Analysts said investors awaited macroeconomic data to gauge the state of the economy before taking any strong stance."Markets are expected to remain volatile in the near term till investors get more clarity from the ongoing elections and high frequency data points," said Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.Consumerinflation is expected to have accelerated to 2.80per cent in March from 2.57 per cent in February on slightly higher food prices, a news agency Reuters poll predicted.
It, however, remains under the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4 per cent.SpiceJet shares rose over 10 per cent to hit an eight-month high after the airline said it would induct 16 Boeing 737-800 aircraft into its fleet to 'bring down flight cancellations to nil'.(With inputs from agencies)Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.
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