MUMBAI -- The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex index opened Thursday above 50,000 for the first time, having climbed from 40,000 in less than two years and after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination drive to inoculate around 300 million people.
The benchmark index opened at 50,096.57, up 0.6% from Wednesday's close. Other major Asian stock markets in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong also climbed on expectations of an economic recovery following the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
