Nifty Trades Higher, Asian Paints Jumps

Benchmark indices were trading marginally higher, in the absence of major cues, with Asian markers too very quiet. The Nifty was trading higher by 33 points at 10,506 points. If the markets end higher, it would be the fifth straight days of gains for the markets.

Shares in Bank of Baroda gained ground 6 per cent after the bank reported a net profit of Rs 506.6 crore in the quarter ended March, compared to a loss of Rs 991.4 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Shares in Paints manufacturer, Berger Paints was up even after the company posted a 6.51 per cent year-on-year fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 103.18 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The shares were last seen trading at Rs 522 on the NSE.

GAIL and Indian Oil, both saw their shares gain marginally ahead of quarterly numbers to be declared later today. The stocks of both these companies have seen a decent recovery in the last few weeks.

Among the top 5 Nifty gainers in trade were JSW Steel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Vedanta. Stocks that lost ground from the Nifty were HCL Tech, Bharti Infratel and Powert Grid. Meanwhile, Asian markets were trading mixed with the Shanghai Composite higher, while the Japanese Nikkei and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang were flat to negative.