Equity benchmark indices show marginal gains over market optimism

Equity benchmark indices opened higher on Wednesday tracking cues from Asian peers. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up 185 points at 37,503 while the Nifty 50 gained 45 points to 11,267.

At the National Stock Exchange, most sectoral indices were in the green during early hours. However, FMCG, media and PSU Bank were in the negative territory. Among the gainers were Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Indian Oil, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Tech.

But Jet Airways slipped to Rs 123.55 per share, down over 4 per cent, after four top executives resigned a day earlier. The departure of Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube, Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer Kuldeep Sharma and Chief People Officer Rahul Taneja cast further doubts over the possible revival of the grounded airline.

The others which lost included Zee Entertainment, Yes Bank, power utility major NTPC, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Tata Motors. Shares in Asia were led by strong gains in Chinese equities which rebounded after two days of losses.

Asian stocks moved up after US President Donald Trump's statement that he expected trade negotiations with China to be successful. Reports also said Beijing could release more economic stimulus to escalate growth.

(With inputs from agencies.)