Sensex trades 150pts higher at 76,550; MidCap index up 2%; IT stocks gain

Benchmark indices, Nifty50 and Sensex, opened flat, tracking mixed cues.

BSE Sensex, which opened nearly 10 points higher at 76,414.52 levels, was volatile, swinging between gains and losses. At 9:35 AM, the index was at 76,439.97, up 34.98 points.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, was at 23,172.10, up 16.75 points.

UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank were the top gainers while HUL and Nestle were the top laggards on BSE.

Similarly, on NSE, UltraTech Cement, Wipro were the gainers while HUL, Nestle were the top laggards.

Broader markets were mixed. Nifty SmallCap was down 0.17 per cent while MidCap was trading 0.14 per cent lower.

Sectorally, Nifty IT was the top gainer, up 1 per cent. Nifty FMCG was the top loser, down 1 per cent.

Investors’ focus today will be primarily on December quarter results from big players like UltraTech Cement and Dr Reddy’s among others.