Sensex, Nifty Move In A Narrow Range

Domestic stock markets started Thursday's session on a choppy note as advances in banking stocks were offset by weakness in IT counters. Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty swung in narrow range between gains and losses in the first hour of trade. The Sensex rose as much as 95 points to touch 35,851 in early trade before reversing direction to shed 30 points. The Nifty moved in a range of 33 points, between 10,756 and 10,721, compared with its previous day's close of 10,735.

At 9:43 am, the Sensex was up 31 points at 35,787 and the Nifty at 10,739, up 3 points from the previous close. Twenty eight stocks on the 50-scrip benchmark index traded with gains at the time.

Top percentage advancers were ICICI Bank, Grasim, GAIL, UltraTech Cement and ONGC, trading between 1.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent higher.

Equities in other Asian markets were steady near four-and-a-half-month highs after Federal Reserve minutes affirmed the US central bank would be "patient" on interest rate rises. Risk assets got a lift from hopes of further progress in US-China trade talks.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was steady in early trade, hovering just off its highest since early October. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.3 per cent after closing at a two-month high during the previous session.

On Wednesday, both benchmark indexes snapped their longest losing streak of 2019 paced by gains in metal, IT and banking stocks. The Nifty climbed 1.2 per cent while the Sensex finished 1.1 per cent higher for the day.

(With agency inputs)