India’s stock benchmark held on to its opening gains after opening gains on Friday, tracking strength in global markets led by industry gains. Nifty50 entered a new monthly derivatives series after rising 3.5% in the previous one.

Across the globe, investors focused on the latest news from the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole meeting for clues on the Fed’s policy outlook.

Both major indexes were up 0.9% in the first few minutes of trading. The Sensex rose 546.9 points to 59,321.7, its highest level, and the Nifty50 climbed to 17,685.9, up 163.4 points from its previous close.

As many as 47 stocks in the Nifty50 basket opened in green. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India and Bharat Petroleum were among the top gainers.

Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Steel – up about 1% each – were also the top blue-chip gainers. Financials, IT, and FMCG stocks were the biggest contributors to gains for both indexes.

Market breadth favoured bulls, with 2,115 BSE stocks advancing and 731 declining. Nifty50 futures and options contracts rose for a second straight month on Thursday.

Shares of other Asian markets remained green after Wall Street’s strong overnight performance despite data showing the US economy contracted modestly in the second quarter of 2022.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% to the latest data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9%. However, S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%. The three major US stock indexes closed 1-2% higher on Thursday.