At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 801.62 points or 1.36% to 59,710.97. The Nifty 50 index added 240.45 points or 1.39% to 17,562.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.63% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.80%.

Market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,194 shares rose and 1,174 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

At 59.4 in February (as against 57.2 in January), the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI® Business Activity Index was at its highest level in 12 years and indicated a sharp expansion in output. Where growth was reported, survey participants mentioned favourable demand conditions and new business gains.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 5.68% to 12.2325. The Nifty 29 March 2023 futures were trading at 17,640, at a premium of 77.65 points as compared with the spot at 17,562.35.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 March 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 78.5 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 119.4 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index advanced 2.22% to 41,287.05. The index declined 0.76% in past trading session.

State Bank of India (up 5%), Bank of Baroda (up 4.49%), Punjab National Bank (up 3.22%), HDFC Bank (up 2.04%), ICICI Bank (up 1.89%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.6%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.59%), IDFC First Bank (up 1.54%), Axis Bank (up 1.18%) and AU Small Finance Bank (up 1.08%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Kiri Industries hit an upper circuit of 10% after the Singapore International Commercial Court confirmed $603.80 million as the final value of the company's stake in DyStar.

Karnataka Bank jumped 2.32% after the company announced that it has appointed Abhishek Sankar Bagchi as chief financial officer (CFO) on contract basis.

Adani Enterprises (AEL) (up 13.79%) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) (up 9.18%) surged. Adani Green Energy (AGEL) and Adani Transmission (ATL) rose by 5% each. Shares of four Adani Group companies advanced after US Global equity boutique GQG Partners completed a Rs 15,446 crore investment in a portfolio of Adani Companies.

The promoters on Thursday sold shares in Adani Enterprises worth Rs 5,460 crore, and those worth Rs 5,282 crore in Adani Ports & SEZ. They also sold shares worth Rs 2,806 crore in Adani Green Energy and Rs 1,898 crore in Adani Transmission to GQG Partners, a US-based global equity-investment boutique firm.