Sensex jumps 69 points, Nifty at 17,718; PSU banks rally

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Domestic benchmark equity indices opened tepid on Thursday as U.S. equities pared most of their gains as a rally in tech shares petered out, investor’s sentiment was further dented after China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for September came in at 49.6. Besides traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month September series to October series. In opening trades, Sensex jumped 69 points or 0.12% to 59,482 while the Nifty was trading 17,718 higher by 7 points or 0.04%.

Gainers & losers

Sectoral strand

Most sectoral indices opened mixed on the NSE. Nifty PSU Bank index was the top gainer among sectoral indices as it advanced 0.96% followed by the Nifty Realty index rallying 0.60% and the Nifty Metal index rose 0.59%. While the Nifty FMCG index was up 0.16%.

On the downside, the Nifty IT, Nifty Auto, Nifty Bank and Nifty Media indices were trading with losses of up to 0.40%.

Broader markets

The broader markets bucked the trend and were trading with strong gain in early trades. The BSE MidCap index advanced 120 points or 0.48% to 25,290 while the BSE SmallCap index was quoting at 28,119 gaining 192 points or 0.69%.

The market breadth was positive as 1,739 shares advanced compared to 560 declining while 115 remained unchanged.

Global markets

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to the release of Chinese factory activity data for September. China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for September came in at 49.6. Meanwhile, a private survey on Chinese factory activity in September came in above expectations, with the Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI for the month rising to 50 for the month as compared with August’s reading 49.2.

In China, investors continue to monitor the situation at China Evergrande Group. As per reports, some bondholders did not receive a due coupon payment by the close of Asia business hours on Wednesday.

Wall Street ended firmer on Wednesday in a partial rebound from the previous day’s broad sell-off, with remarks from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the ongoing debt ceiling debate keeping a lid on gains. The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced, but the Nasdaq Composite closed lower.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his counterparts in Japan, Europe and the U.K. voiced cautious optimism that supply-chain disruptions lifting inflation rates around the world would ultimately prove temporary.