(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks opened higher on Thursday, inching towards record-high levels, underpinned by a positive earnings outlook and renewed foreign inflows ahead of key U.S. jobs data.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.3% to 26,132.1, while the BSE Sensex was up 0.33% at 85,470.92, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Both benchmarks remain roughly 0.6% below their all-time highs reached in September 2024.
All 16 major sectors opened in the green, with broader small-cap and mid-cap indexes advancing about 0.3% each.
Other Asian markets rose 1.3%, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street, as investors cheered Nvidia’s upbeat earnings.
Investors await the release of the U.S. September jobs report, due later in the day, for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut trajectory. [MKTS/GLOB]
Analysts said that growing optimism over a potential India-U.S. trade deal, stronger earnings prospects, and attractive stock valuations could lure foreign investors back to Indian equities, providing further upward momentum.
Provisional NSE data showed foreign investors bought 15.81 billion rupees ($178.4 million) of shares on Wednesday, while domestic institutions added 13.61 billion rupees.
($1 = 88.6310 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
