Equities soar on healthy domestic cues, Nifty touches new high (Lead)

Mumbai April 3 (IANS) Positive domestic cues coupled with a strong rupee and healthy buying in capital goods and consumer durables sectors gave a fillip to the Indian equity markets during the mid-afternoon trade session on Monday.

The NSE Nifty made a record high opening and touched a fresh 52-week high. It opened at 9 220.60 points and touched a new high of 9 220.65 points during the intra-day trade.

Healthy macro-economic data -- the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) -- which showed that India s manufacturing activity rose to 52.5 in March from 50.7 in February -- aided the upward trajectory of the key Indian indices.

Besides investors sentiments were buoyed by the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 -- a major tax reform -- and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley s pegging India s GDP growth at 7.7 per cent in 2018.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 41.75 points or 0.46 per cent to 9 215.50 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE which opened at 29 737.73 points traded at 29 828.59 points (at 1.00 p.m.) -- up 208.09 points or 0.70 per cent from the previous close at 29 620.50 points.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 29 843.86 points and a low of 29 705.72 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was bullish -- with 1 897 advances and 754 declines.

On Friday the benchmark indices closed on a flat note as negative global cues hampered investors sentiments.

The NSE Nifty closed flat -- unchanged at 9 173.75 points while the BSE Sensex closed at 29 620.50 points -- down 26.92 points or 0.09 per cent.

--IANS
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