The key equity indices traded with modest gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above the 22,900 level. Metal shares extended gains for three consecutive trading sessions.
At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 226.03 points or 0.30% to 75,527.29. The Nifty 50 index added 94.60 points or 0.41% to 22,924.50.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 2.28%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 2.10%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,973 shares rose and 1,016 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index added 1.10% to 9,132.60. The index rallied 4.04% for the third consecutive trading session.
Hindustan Zinc (up 4.2%), Steel Authority of India (up 3.75%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 3.2%), Tata Steel (up 2.46%), JSW Steel (up 1.37%), NMDC (up 0.81%), Adani Enterprises (up 0.76%), Jindal Stainless (up 0.72%), Welspun Corp (up 0.71%) and Hindustan Copper (up 0.68%) advanced.
On the other hand, Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (down 2.7%) and National Aluminium Company (down 1.33%) edged lower.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.54% to 6.773 as compared with the previous close of 6.783.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.5175, compared with its close of 86.5600 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for the 4 April 2025 settlement shed 0.14% to Rs 88,606.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.30% to 103.56.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.23% to 4.291.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement fell 45 cents or 0.64% to $70.11 a barrel.