Sensex extends rally, up over 320 points, Nifty above 8050 on strong global cues

Mumbai: After a very weak August series, the market has kickstarted September series with a bang. The Nifty is up 104.75 points or 1 per cent at 8053.70 and the Sensex is up 319.03 points or 1 per cent at 26550.22.

About 201 shares have advanced, 35 shares declined, and 7 shares are unchanged. ONGC, Hindalco, Maruti, M&M and Cipla are top gainers in the Sensex. The Indian rupee opened on a flat note. It was trading at 66.03 per dollar against previous closing of 66.04. Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "US GDP data suggests that economic conditions are getting better and are on the right track. Taking cues from this Indian equities will open positively but profit booking at higher level may cap the gain."

"Rupee is also expected to trade strong, supported by local equities. We see the range for the rupee between 65.60-66.60/dollar," he added. The dollar retained at one-week highs against a basket of major currencies, having benefited from upbeat US data and as investors continue to cut back on safe-havens such as the yen.

On the global markets front, Wall Street rallied more than 2 per cent on Thursday as strong US economic data and hints that a September interest-rate hike was unlikely fueled optimism that the worst of recent market turmoil was over.

The Dow Jones industrial average scored its biggest two-day percentage gain since 2008, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite racked up their biggest two-day increases since 2009. With Thursday's gains, the S&P has recovered about half of the 11-percent meltdown it suffered over a six-day losing streak caused by fears of slowing growth in China.

Asian stocks extended their recovery into the final trading day of the week as investors cheered a second day of gains in Chinese and US markets. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite spiked more than 1 percent in early trade on Friday, building on a 5.4 percent gain in the previous session following news that the People's Bank of China purchased stocks from big firms and requested state-owned banks to buy more yuan on its behalf late on Thursday. Oil prices jumped 7 per cent after a rally in equity markets and an unexpected fall in US crude inventories.