Sensex, Nifty
A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai.Reuters | Representational

The key Indian equity indices edged up on Tuesday, March 31, tracking broader Asian peers, as unexpected upbeat factory data from China provided hope of a rebound in activity despite a rise in the novel coronavirus cases back home.

The Sensex was above the 29,000 mark while Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was around the 8,500 level.

The rise in Asian markets

The gains were in tandem with the rise in Asian markets.

At 10 38 am, it was trading at 29,171.89, higher by 731.57 points or 2.57 per cent from the previous close of 28,440.32.

It had opened at 29,294.9 and has so far touched an intra-day high of 29,316.80 and a low of 28,667.36

The Nifty was trading at 8,509.15, higher by 228.05 points, 2.75 per cent.

Among the Sensex stocks, the top gainers so far were Infosys, ONGC, HCL Technologies, ITC and Tata Steel, while, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki and Bharti Airtel were the only losers.

Meanwhile, India reported over 1,300 confirmed Covid-19 cases by today morning. However, the government said it had no plans to extend the 21-day lockdown that began last week.

(With IANS inputs)