Mumbai: Equity indices witnessed a strong start on Thursday (January 9) amid positive global cues. The Sensex is up 452.41 points or 1.11% at 41,270.15, while the Nifty traded up 136.40 points or 1.13% at 12,161.80. Among major on the Indices were Asian Paints, JSW Steel, HPCL, IOC, BPCL, SBI, Tata Steel, and Hindalco, while TCS, Tech Mahindra and Wipro were the top laggards.


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About 662 shares advanced, 85 shares declined, while 24 stocks remain unchanged. 


The Indian rupee also opened higher by 27 paise at 71.43 per dollar versus Wednesday's close 71.70.


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On Wednesday, Indian markets closed in the red over reports that Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel.


The Sensex closed 52 points lower at 40,817.74 while the broader Nifty settled at 12,025.35, lower by 27.60 points down 0.23 per cent. The Sensex after witnessing a fall of 400 points later recovered in the wake of Iran's statement that its strike on US facilities in Iraq didn`t mean it was seeking a war.


Meanwhile, Asian stocks rebounded on Thursday and oil edged up as the United States and Iran backed away from the brink of further conflict in the Middle East and investors unwound safety plays.


US President Donald Trump responded overnight to an Iranian attack on US forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further over a January 3 US strike that killed one of its senior military commanders.


MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1%, as did Hong Kong`s Hang Seng and Shanghai blue chips reversing Wednesday`s losses. Japan`s Nikkei rose 1.8%, lifting stocks to their highest for the year so far, while Australian stocks climbed 1% to just below December`s record high.


Investors quit the safe-haven Japanese yen , sending it sliding from a three-month high to a two-week low of 109.25 yen per dollar.


Oil now sits just about where it was before the killing of the Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad, a strike that raised fears of an escalating regional conflict.


Brent futures prices crept up from month lows hit overnight to $65.84 per barrel, about where they began the year.


Gold gave back sharp gains made on Wednesday but remains dearer than before Soleimani`s death, in an indication that investors` fears have not completely evaporated. It drifted higher to $1,560.00 per ounce.


On Wall Street stocks rose, led by the Nasdaq which added 0.67%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose roughly half a percentage point.


(With Agency Inputs)