Mumbai: Equity indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. The Nifty 50 index scaled the decisive 9000 mark.
At 12:24, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 291.01 points or 0.96% at 30,670.82.. The Nifty 50 index was up 86.15 points or 0.97% at 9,011.15.
Pharma stocks are continuing their recent rally, with Biocon, Aurobindo Pharma and Sun Pharma gaining 1.8-3.2 per cent each.
Metal stocks are looking good in today's trades.
Vedanta has soared by 6 per cent, while Hindalco, Hindustan Zinc and Jindal Steel have added around 3 per cent each.
Energy stocks are also seeing buying interest, with Reliance Industries, HPCL and IOC adding 1.1-2.3 per cent each.
Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 300 points in opening trade on Thursday tracking losses in global markets as investors fretted over rising number of Covid-19 cases and its impact on the world economy.
After hitting a low of 30,016.17, the 30-share index was trading 336.77 points or 1.11 per cent lower at 30,043.04.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty was quoting 81.10 points, or 0.91 per cent, down at 8,844.20.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market in the last trading session, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,358.66 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
According to traders, tepid start to the earnings season with weak results from Wipro hurt domestic market mood.
The IT major posted 6 per cent decline in net profit for March quarter that was battered by the fallout of Covid-19, and said it will not provide revenue forecast for the current quarter due to business uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The company's shares were trading 0.48 per cent lower from their previous close.
The BSE IT index was the worst hit, falling over 2 per cent.
Further, investors across the world are jittery over the economic outlook marred by mounting Covid-19 infections, they said.
The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 414, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 12,380.
Global tally of the infections has crossed 20 lakh, with over 1.3 lakh deaths.
