Opening Bell: Markets Gain Amid Mixed Global Cues; Sensex Above 66,000, Nifty At 19,748.15

The markets rose on Thursday with Sensex at 66,264.42, up by 145.73 points and Nifty was at 19,748.15 with a gain of 31.70 points. L&T, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, SBI an JSW Steel were the top gainers in the morning session, whereas Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the losers.

Markets on Wednesday

The benchmark indices on Wednesday ended the day on a positive note after being in red in the morning session. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up by 210.07 points or 0.32 per cent, to close at 66,155.54. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty rose by 62.95 points or 0.32 per cent to end the day at 19,727.65.

Nifty Bank was comparatively flat with a loss of 23.45 points or 0.05 per cent at 44,600.75.

Global markets

US markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors consider treasury yields and the path of interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 68.61 points to 33,550.27, the S&P 500 rose 0.98 points at 4,274.51 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 29.24 points at 13,092.85.

The Asian stock markets were trading mixed on Thursday with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 273.47 points at 32,098.43 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 81.92 points at 17,529.95. However, GIFT Nifty exchange was trading higher at 19,717 up by 21.50 points and South Korea's KOSPI added 2.10 points at 2,465.07.

Oil prices

Oil prices rose on Thursday to the highest levels in 2023. While Brent crude futures for November jumped above $97 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate was above $95 per barrel.

Rupee

The Indian rupee opened flat on Thursday morning at 83.22 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 83.22.