Equity indices on upswing, IT and auto stocks in focus

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 1 : Equity benchmark indices were up by over half a per cent during early hours on Thursday as the new financial year began amid positive global cues.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 270 points or 0.54 per cent at 49,779 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 90 points or 0.62 per cent to 14,781.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty metal up by 1.6 per cent, IT by 1.2 per cent and auto by 1 per cent.
Among stocks, JSW Steel gained by 4 per cent to Rs 487.30 per share while Hindalco added a gain of 2.1 per cent to Rs 333.85. Tata Steel was up by 1.6 per cent to Rs 825.10 per unit.
HCL Technologies edged higher by 2.7 per cent, Wipro by 1.2 per cent, Hero MotoCorp by 2.2 per cent and Bajaj Auto by 1.8 per cent.
However, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Nestle India and IndianOil Corporation traded with a negative bias.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks crept higher as investors parsed the details of a 2 trillion dollar US government spending plan and hoped for strong jobs data later in the week.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.6 per cent after a modest drop on Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei rose by 1.3 per cent as a survey showed big manufacturers' mood bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.