Equity indices trade higher amid easing geopolitical tensions

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 9 (ANI): Equity benchmark parameters edged higher during early hours on Thursday following remarks by US President Donald Trump that eased fears of a larger conflict with Iran.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 404 points to 41,221 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 126 points at 12,151.
Except for Nifty IT which dipped slightly, all sectoral indices were in the positive zone. Nifty PSU bank gained by 1.97 per cent each, realty by 1.85 per cent and metal by 1.27 per cent.
Among stocks, Bharti Infratel advanced by 4.6 per cent at Rs 247.25 per share to emerge as the top performer. Metal majors JSW Steel and Tata Steel gained by 3.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent while IndusInd Bank moved up by 2.4 per cent, ICICI Bank by 1.9 per cent and State Bank of India by 1.8 per cent.
The other prominent gainers were Zee Entertainment, Tata Motors, UPL and Adani Ports.
However, IT majors Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and HCL Technologies showed marginal losses.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks rebounded and oil prices edged up as the United States and Iran backed away from the brink of further conflict in the Middle East.
Trump responded overnight to an Iranian attack on US forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it will retaliate further over a January 3 US strike that killed one of its senior military commanders.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 1 per cent as did Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai blue chips CSI300. Japan's Nikkei rose by 1.8 per cent, lifting stocks to their highest for the year so far. (ANI)