Sensex above 32,000 on funds inflows, earnings hopes

Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex took control of the key 32,000-mark and the NSE Nifty got above 9,900 on Thursday after confidence over corporate earnings brought in more foreign capital

Other Asian markets ruled high following fresh record closing in the US market on strong earnings and higher oil prices

The Bank of Japan in a policy move kept interest rate steady.

The 30-share BSE index reclaimed the psychological 32,000-mark as it traded up 101.77 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 32,057.12. FMCG, bank, realty, power and auto were at the forefront

The gauge had rallied 244.36 points in the previous session.

The NSE Nifty spurted by 22.95 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 9,922.55

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,046.65 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data

Marketmen said unabated inflow of foreign funds and persistent buying by retail investors, buoyed by better-than- expected earnings by some blue-chip companies, helped the indices trade above their key levels.

Stocks of ONGC emerged as the top gainer by climbing 2.02 per cent after the Cabinet on Wednesday approved sale of the government's stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to India's largest oil producer ONGC.

Stocks of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Industries were trading higher by up to 1.83 per cent ahead of earnings, to be released later in the day.

Other prominent gainers were ITC Ltd, Axis Bank, M&M, Tata Motors and Coal India

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.36 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.25 per cent in early trade on Thursday. Shanghai Composite was up 0.27 per cent

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new peak on Wednesday.

—PTI News