Equity gauges in the green, metal stocks shine

Equity benchmark indices were in the positive zone during early hours on Friday in line with global cues while investors remain cautious ahead of the first fiscal quarter GDP data.

Equity benchmark indices were in the positive zone during early hours on Friday in line with global cues while investors remain cautious ahead of the first fiscal quarter GDP data. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 92 points at 37,161 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 36 points to 10,984.

At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were up except for Nifty IT. Metal gained by 2.36 per cent, PSU bank by 1.08 per cent and realty by nearly 1 per cent. Nifty IT slipped by 0.6 per cent. Among stocks, metal stocks showed handsome gains with Hindalco up by 3.8 per cent, Tata Steel by 3.1 per cent, Vedanta by 2.6 per cent and JSW Steel by 2.2 per cent.

The other prominent gainers included GAIL, ONGC, ITC, Britannia, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finserv. However, IT stocks like Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys witnessed marginal declines.

Meanwhile, Asian shares jumped to a one-week high following strong gains on the Wall Street overnight amid signs that China is open to a resolution of its trade war with the United States. Investors also hoped that central banks and governments will do more to avert a global growth slowdown. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan were up by 1 per cent. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.2 per cent while South Korea's KOSPI index gained 1.7 per cent. (ANI)

Also Read: GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks rise as stimulus, policy hopes calm nervous investors