Sensex Today: Indian equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were higher at open on Thursday, tracking overnight gains in the US markets that were also driving other Asian markets, barring China, higher.

At opening bell, the BSE Sensex was at 81,840, up 317 points, or 0.39 per cent, while the Nifty 50 had gained 141 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 25,059.

Global Cues

US markets reversed an earlier sell-off to close higher on Wednesday. Brent crude prices rebounded from their three-and-a-half-year lows as a key inflation report cemented expectations that the US Federal Reserve will issue a 25-basis point rate cut next week.

Investors also parsed Tuesday night’s US Presidential debate to gauge potential policy shifts after the November election.

All three major US stock indices pulled a U-turn, transforming a sell-off into a rally by mid-afternoon. Tech stocks, particularly chips, were clear outperformers, putting the Nasdaq ahead of the pack.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124.75 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 40,861.71, the S&P 500 gained 58.6 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 5,554.12 and the Nasdaq Composite added 369.65 points, or 2.17 per cent, to 17,395.53.

European stocks ended the session essentially flat as investors shifted their focus to the European Central Bank and its rate decision expected on Thursday.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.01 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.62 per cent.

Following that, markets in the Asia-Pacific region opened higher on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3 per cent in early trades and Topix gained 2.48 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi opened 1.2 per cent higher and the small cap Kosdaq advanced 2.5 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.6 per cent, meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,194, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,108.71. Futures for mainland China’s CSI 300 stood at 3,181.6, lower than its Wednesday close at 3,186.13.