Sensex Crosses 70,500 As Banks, IT Stocks Gain: Midday Market Update

Indian benchmark indices largely maintained their opening gains on Thursday, with the Sensex crossing the 70,500 mark for the first time through midday, led by bank and information technology stocks.

The positive sentiment was driven by the U.S. Fed's signal of rate cuts in 2024. Both the indices hit fresh lifetime highs.

As of 12:41 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was 842.43 points, or 1.21% higher at 70,427.03, while the NSE Nifty 50 was up 234.60 points, or 1.12% at 21,160. 95 points.

"Positive sentiments prevail both globally and domestically, with Nifty poised for a breakout above 21,050 and Bank Nifty above 47,600," said Shrey Jain, founder and chief executive officer of SAS Online. "On the weekly expiry day, a robust support zone for Nifty lies between 20,925 and 21,025."

HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. were positively contributing to changes in the Nifty.

While, Bharat Petroleum Corp., HDFC Life Insurance Co., Nestle India Ltd., Power Grid Corp. of India and Titan Co. were weighing the index.

All sectoral indices rose, with Nifty Realty and IT gaining more than 3%. While, Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG gained the least.

The broader markets rose; the BSE MidCap was up 1.04%, while the BSE SmallCap was 0.91% higher. All 20 sectors compiled by the BSE advanced.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,151 stocks gained, 1,503 fell, and 140 remained unchanged on the BSE.