Sensex up slightly as PM promises GST bill by next year

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 34 points in opening trade on Wednesday on buying in oil, banking and IT stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows. Sentiment also got a boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be rolled out from next year, brokers said.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 34.16 points or 0.12% at 26,967.04 points in early trade.

The barometer had rallied 1,316.04 points in the previous five sessions. 

Among major gainers, ONGC rose by 2.6%, Gail by nearly 2%, and Vedanta Ltd by 1.5%. SBI, Infosys, HDFC and Maruti rose up to 1.3%.

Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty edged higher by 5 points, or 0.06% at 8,157.90.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up by 0.88%, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.17% in early trade on Wednesday. 

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.08% higher on Tuesday's trade.