By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities was holding on to its morning gains made on positive Asian cues, even though trade remained choppy Thursday afternoon.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,668.91 points, was ruling at 16,770.06 points, 112.17 points or 0.67 percent up from its previous close at 16,657.89 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,033.35 points, up 0.66 percent from its previous close.
Broader markets indices were also in the positive, with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.37 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index 0.74 percent up.
Auto, capital goods, power and healthcare stocks saw more buying than others, with all the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE in the green.
In other major Asian markets, the Japanese Nikkei ended higher at 9,542.65 points, up 1.1 percent after China reported robust export numbers raising hopes that the Euro zone debt crisis would not derail the global economic recovery.
The South Korean Kospi too closed higher at 1,651.7 points, up 0.27 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was ruling flat around closing bell time at 19,647.34 points, while the Shanghai composite index ended 0.82 percent lower at 2,562.58 points.
Europe opened in the red.
UK’s benchmark index, the FTSE 100 was ruling 0.63 percent lower at 5,053.6 points, while its German peer DAX was ruling 0.51 percent down at 5,954 points.
The French CAC 40 was also ruling in the negative at 3,421.82 points, down 0.72 percent.