Banking stocks drive Sensex 600 pts higher, Nifty above 22,300

From the Sensex stock, , Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and Wipro opened with gains, while Maruti Suzuki, HCL Tech, Titan, Tech Mahindra, and Asian Paints opened with cuts.

BHEL rose 4.6% higher after the company received an order worth Rs 4,000 crore from for setting up a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh.

shares opened 3% higher after the firm announced a strategic partnership with German original equipment maker Deutsche Aircraft for the design of the rear fuselage section of one of its aircraft.

Recent hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data triggered worries over a delay in interest rate cuts but the Fed's commentary at the policy meeting earlier this month eased concerns, as the central bank stuck to projections of three rate cuts this year.

Markets now expect a U.S. rate cut in June, but the inflation data on Friday could influence the timing.

On the sectoral front, PSU Bank rose 1.1%, led by IOB, Indian Bank, and Punjab & Sind Bank. Nifty Financial, FMCG, IT, Media, Metal, Pharma, and Oil & Gas also opened with gains. In the broader market, The Nifty Smallcap100 gained 0.3%, and Nifty Midcap100 rose 0.05%.

Experts Take
"The upward directional move expected from early April has been confirmed by the strong 119 rally in Nifty yesterday. The primary catalyst for the ongoing rally is the huge liquidity flows into the market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, .

"Since flows into the market continue and are showing no signs of slowdown, a scramble for high quality stocks with good growth prospects is likely. A significant trend in the market is the steady performance of industrials like L&T, Siemens, Cummins and ABB. This trend is likely to continue," Vijayakumar said.

Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, said, "Nifty50 has formed an Inverted Head & Shoulder formation and now awaiting a breakout for the target of 22,640 while on the lower side, 21,900 will continue to act as a strong support."

Global Markets
Asian stocks fell ahead of a key U.S. inflation reading. Markets were largely rangebound ahead of Friday's much-anticipated U.S. core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index data, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell to a one-month low in early trade, while the Shanghai Composite index struggled below the psychologically key 3000-point mark and dipped 0.1%. All that left MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.05% lower.

Wall Street equities closed higher overnight, ahead of a key inflation reading later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.22%, the S&P 500 gained 0.86% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.51%.

FII/DII Flow
Foreign portfolio investors bought Indian shares worth Rs 2,170 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased a net Rs 1,198 core worth of stocks.

Crude OIL
Global oil prices edged up on Thursday, recovering from two consecutive sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories data and returned to buying mode.

Brent crude futures for May were up 39 cents, or 0.44%, at $86.38 a barrel, while the May contract rose 0.52 at $81.77.

Currency Watch
The Indian rupee rose 3 paise to 83.30 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.01% to 104.35 level.

(With inputs from agencies)
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