Indices open strong, Nifty tops 11,800

Thursday,   18-Apr-2019   09:39 AM (IST)

Benchmark indices opened strong on Thursday with Nifty topping the 11,800 level. The S&P BSE Sensex moved up over 100 points to hover around 39,400 levels. At 9:20 AM, the index was trading at 39,390, up 114 points, or 0.29 per cent, with Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, HDFC and Hero MotoCorp among the top gainers. The Nifty50, on the other hand, is trading 0.22 per cent, or 26 points, higher  at 11,813. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading 31 points, or 0.20 per cent, up at 15,552, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was ruling at 15,193, up 21 points, or 0.14 per cent. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Bank index hit a fresh record high of 30,669.80 and was trading at 30,656.50, up 0.16 per cent. Asian shares were subdued on Thursday after a negative performance on Wall Street, with caution ahead of business surveys in Europe and Japan, and the Good Friday and Easter holidays keeping investors on the sidelines. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.08 per cent, trading just below its highest since late July 2018 brushed on Wednesday. Australian shares advanced a quarter of a per cent while Japan’s Nikkei was a shade lower.