The S&P BSE Smallcap index hit a fresh 52-week high of 20,064 points, up 1 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Thursday, on the back of continued upward movement in public sector undertaking (PSU) banks. The smallcap index is 133 points away from its all-time high level of 20,183 points touched on January 15, 2018. Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India rallied 20 per cent each while Bank of Maharashtra was up 10 per cent on the BSE today. In the past one week, these banks have surged between 64 per cent and 67 per cent on report that the government has shortlisted these mid-sized state-run banks, along with Bank of India, for privatisation.
Read more about Market trading with small gains; breadth strong on Business Standard. Key benchmark indices are trading with small gains in early trade. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 46.24 points or 0.09% at 51,750.07. The Nifty 50 index was up 12.45 points or 0.08% at 15,221.35.
Read more about Market drifts lower on negative Asian stocks on Business Standard. Key benchmark indices are trading lower in early trade on negative Asian stocks. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 184.03 points or 0.35% at 51,920.14. The Nifty 50 index was down 46.65 points or 0.3% at 15,266.80.
Key equity indices were trading with small losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was hovering near 15,300 mark. Indices witnessed profit selling after recent steep gains. PSU banks and media stocks were in demand while pharma and IT shares declined.
At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 115.72 points or 0.22% at 51,988.45. The Nifty 50 index lost 20.80 points or 0.14% at 15,292.65.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.30% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.79%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,472 shares rose and 1,271 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
Read more about Healthcare stocks slide on Business Standard. Healthcare stocks were trading in red, with the S&P BSE Healthcare index decreasing 229.34 points or 1.04% at 21803.98 at 13:48 IST.