India's benchmark stock indices extended gains in afternoon Thursday trade after the Monetary Policy Committee kept the benchmark repo rate unchanged.
The headline indices were trading at their highest levels since March 9, with the NSE Nifty 50 trading above 17,600 while the S&P BSE Sensex inched closer to 60,000.
On the global front, U.S. equity futures fell while the Asian markets rallied against the backdrop of weaker-than-expected economic data that supported forecasts for recession. Contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 were a little changed. Benchmarks declined in China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia on Thursday.
At 12:08 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex gained 144 points, or 0.34%, to 59,833.10, while the NSE Nifty 50 rose 45 points, or 0.26%, to 17,602.45.
IndusInd Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., State Bank of India, and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. were among the top gainers in the Nifty 50.
Whereas, Axis Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Power Grid Corp of India Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., and Nestle India Ltd. were the laggards among the index constituents.
All the Adani Group company stocks recovered in trade, with Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani total Gas Ltd. and Adani Enterprises Ltd. rising the most.
The broader market indices were trading higher, with the S&P BSE MidCap gaining 0.49% and the S&P BSE SmallCap rising 0.51% by midday trade on Thursday.
Sixteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, while S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods, S&P BSE Information Technology, S&P BSE Metal and S&P BSE Teck declined.
The market's breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 2,250 stocks rose 1,043 declined, and 121 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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