Sensex, Nifty Struggle For Direction Ahead Of Macro Data; IT Stocks Surge

Sensex,

Indian shares struggled for direction on Thursday ahead of domestic CPI inflation and industrial output figures due out later in the day.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex was up 27 points at 81,553 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index was down 7 points at 24,635.

IT stocks traded higher, with Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Tech Mahindra rallying 1-2 percent.

Reliance Power jumped nearly 5 percent after it formed a new arm for renewable energy business.

Reliance Infrastructure climbed 2 percent. The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to its subsidiary Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd over non-refund of dues.

Jubilant Foodworks tumbled more than 3 percent after the Group agreed to acquire a 40 percent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings.

State Bank of India shares dropped half a percent. The state-run has invited counter bids from entities interested in acquiring bad debt of Rs 52,074 crore in Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) through a Swiss challenge auction.

Shriram Finance edged down slightly after completing the sale of its entire stake in its housing finance subsidiary.