Equity benchmarks maintained strong momentum in noon trade despite weakness in Asian peers. HDFC Bank was a key driver today, up 7 percent after FII stake-buy ban removed by the RBI. This lifted the Nifty Bank index nearly 600 points to hit a record high. More than 2 percent market cap of HDFC Bank already traded on exchanges. The street expects large FIIs buying today, aided by bank's block deals.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 270 points at 28567 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 73 points to 8851, outperforming broader markets.
The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices gained 0.6 percent each as about 1443 shares advanced against 997 declining shares on exchange.
In Commodity market, Gold slipped 98 points to 29,318 and Silver dropped 140 points to 42,870. The Rupee higher by 6 paise at 67.01 per Dollar.
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