After opening on the lower side by a whisker the Indian indices nudged higher in early morning trade. The BSE Sensex went up by near 142 points after making a low of 35,898 levels. The 50-stock Nifty index surged 54 points to 10,789 levels on Thursday intraday trade. The Indian indices are further expected to gain on strong global cues coming in from the expected China-US trade talks taking place on March 1. Trump had said on Tuesday that trade negotiations were going well and suggested he was open to pushing off the deadline to complete negotiations, saying March 1 was not a "magical" date.

However, market experts are still not ready to open up until the market breaks either side of the range-bound trade. SEBI registered technical equity analyst Simi Bhaumik told Zee Business Online, "The market is range-bound till it breaks either side of the range. Currently, it is in the range of 10,500 to 10,950. A bull or bear run can be expected if the market breaks either side of the levels and sustains for at least two successive trading session after that break."

See Zee Business Live TV streaming below:

3:34 PM

Closing Bell: Sensex adds 142 points, Nifty rises 54 points

After opening on the lower side by a whisker the Indian indices nudged higher in early morning trade. The BSE Sensex went up by near 142 points after making a low of 35,898 levels. The 50-stock Nifty index surged 54 points to 10,789 levels on Thursday intraday trade. The Indian indices are further expected to gain on strong global cues coming in from the expected China-US trade talks taking place on March 1.

3:17 PM

Metal index follows the basic material index closely 

Following the basic material index closely, the BSE metal index added around 1.22 per cent from its Wednesday close. Metal major Vedanta stocks rose near 2.9 per cent, Tata Steel counter rose by near 1.55 per cent, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) stocks rose by near 2 per cent, NDMC counter went up by near 1 per cent, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd shares went northward by more than 3 per cent, JSW Steel and Hindalco counter went up by more than 0.75 per cent.

3:12 PM

BSE Basic Materials Index extend rally

Logging over 1.25 per cent gains from the Wednesday close, the basic materials index became the leading gainer on Thursday intraday trade. The index major Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd stocks scaled over 4.2 per cent, Excel Crop Care counter rose more than 3 per cent, Excel Industries counter went up by more than 6 per cent, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals shares rose by near 1.9 per cent, India Glycols stock rose by more than 2.2 per cent, Jindal Poly Films share rose near 4.9 per cent, Jindal Steel & Power counter went northward by 3.14 per cent while Jubilant Industries stocks rose by around 1 per cent.

1:30 PM

Buy metal stocks, advises IndiaNivesh

Since the beginning of year 2018, NIFTY METAL has been the most underperforming sector and the index NIFTY METAL eroded more than 35% from its peak of 4256 (CMP 2780). The daily and weekly chart structures are showing signs of exhaustion and a possibility of bounce.

For details see the IndiaNivesh chart below:

Source: IndiaNivesh

1:10 PM

Sensex, Nifty extend early gains

After opening on the lower side by a whisker the Indian indices nudged higher in early morning trade. The BSE Sensex went up by near 134 points after making a low of 35,890. The 50-stock Nifty index surged 43 points to 10,778 points up to 10,745 levels after making a low of 10,723. The Indian indices are expected to gain on strong global cues coming in from the expected China-US trade talks taking place on March 1. 

11:05 AM

Markets Live: Sensex, Nifty edge higher

After opening on the lower side by a whisker the Indian indices nudged higher in early morning trade. The BSE Sensex went up by near 31 points after making a low of 35,788. The 50-stock Nifty index too nudged 10 points up to 10,745 levels after making a low of 10,723. 

10:10 AM

BSE Basic Material Index leads rally

The BSE basic material index rose maximum in early intraday trade by adding over half a per cent. The index major Aarti Industries Ltd jump over 5 per cent from its previous close, shares of Agarwal Industrial Corporation and AksharChem (India) rose by over 3 per cent, Andhra Cements Ltd stocks gained around 3.25 per cent, Arcotech counter surge by near 4 per cent, Ashapura Minechem Ltd shares went northward by around 2.3 per cent, BASF India Ltd stock surge by near 3.1 per cent while Deccan Cements Ltd, Excel Industries Ltd, Fairchem Speciality Ltd, and Kanoria Chemicals & Industries stock added more than 2 per cent from their Wednesday close.

9:45 AM

HDFC Securities outlook on major IT counters:

9:35 AM

Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty trades tepid in early morning trade

After opening on the lower side by a whisker the Indian indices nudged higher in early morning trade. The BSE Sensex went up by near 10 points after making a low of 35,732. The 50-stock Nifty index too nudged 1 point up to 10,736 levels after making a low of 10,723. The Indian indices are expected to gain on strong global cues coming in from the expected China-US trade talks taking place on March 1.

9:05 AM

Asian markets rises near fiour and a half month high

Asian shares held near 4-1/2-month highs on Thursday after US Federal Reserve minutes affirmed it would be "patient" on interest rate rises and 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 were steady in early trade, hovering just off their highest since early October.

Australian shares gave up early gains, last trading 0.1 per cent lower, but the Australian dollar rallied in the wake of strong full-time jobs figure.

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.3 per cent after closing at a two-month high during the previous session.