9:44 a.m.: From the Nifty basket of stocks, 34 were advancing while 17 were declining. Tata Motors was the top Nifty gainer, up 2 per cent to Rs 504Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda were also among the gainers, up 1-1.8 per cent each.
9:31 a.m.: Indian stock markets made a solid start on Monday, with the BSE Sensex rising nearly 150 points and the Nifty edging closer to the key 8,600 levels.
Gains were led by Reliance Industries, which jumped 1.5 per cent on Q1 earnings beat. RIL, whose consolidated net profit rose to Rs 7,113 crore in Q1, was the top gainer in the Nifty50 index.
Nearly all sectoral indices on the Bombay Stock Exchange traded higher, with the exception of the IT sub-index, which continued to under pressure post Infosys Q1.
Infosys, which revised its annual sales guidance downwards, traded 0.35 per cent lower, on top of the 9 per cent cut on Friday. Wipro, which is yet to report Q1 numbers, was the top loser among frontline IT stocks, down 1.3 per cent.
Traders would be eyeing the monsoon session of parliament, which begins today, amid expectations that the key GST Bill may be passed soon.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1 per cent having reached its highest in almost nine months last week. Australia rose 0.4 per cent while Shanghai was a fraction lower.
As of 09.20 a.m., the Sensex traded 133 points or 0.5 per cent higher at 27,969, while the Nifty was up 33 points at 8,574.