Mumbai, July 16 (IANS) Indian equity benchmark indices traded higher in the morning session on Thursday despite mixed global cues.
Sensex jumped over 300 points or 0.42 per cent to hit an intraday high of 77,514.30 in early trade, while Nifty rose 88 points or 0.36 per cent to 24,167 amid buying in consumer durables, IT and auto stocks.
Nifty Consumer Durables index surged 1.63 per cent, followed by Nifty IT, which gained 1.38 per cent, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, up 1.13 per cent, and Nifty Auto, which advanced 0.72 per cent.
On the downside, financial stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty MidSmall Financial Services index falling 1 per cent and Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank declining 0.88 per cent. Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices also traded lower.
SBI Life, HDFC Life, ONGC, Axis Bank, BEL, Max Healthcare Institute, Grasim Industries and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise were among the top laggards on the Nifty.
Analysts said the market is likely to trade in a narrow range with a positive bias as crude oil prices remain broadly steady and global markets stabilise.
Investors will closely track the June quarter earnings season, with banks and NBFCs expected to post healthy numbers backed by robust credit growth, according to them.
They further noted that automobile companies are also likely to remain in focus amid expectations of strong quarterly growth, supported by GST cuts and easier availability of finance, while profitable digital platform companies could continue to attract investor interest.
Meanwhile, Brent crude rose 0.71 per cent to around $85 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.24 per cent to $80.59 a barrel.
Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei traded over 2 per cent lower and South Korea's KOSPI declined around 6 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained about 2 per cent.
--IANS
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