The market firmed up in morning trade. At 10:35 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 138.64 points or 0.37% at 37,429.31. The Nifty 50 index was up 49.80 points or 0.44% at 11,328.70. Positive cues from other Asian markets boosted investors sentiment.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.53%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.13%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1153 shares rose and 921 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.

Tata Steel (up 2.47%), ONGC (up 2.28%), Axis Bank (up 2.08%), Coal India (up 1.90%), Asian Paints (up 1.84%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.25%), were the major Sensex gainers.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was up 1.25%. The company announced that Almirall has received the European Commission (EC) approval for Ilumetri (tildrakizumab) for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. As indicated by Almirall, roll out of Ilumetri in Europe will start in the next few weeks. In July 2016, Sun Pharma out-licensed tildrakizumab to Almirall, for the development and commercialization of the product for psoriasis in Europe. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 18 September 2018.

ICICI Bank was up 0.72%. The bank clarified after market hours yesterday, 18 September 2018, that it has not filed any application for settlement but only a response to the show-cause notice has been submitted to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The clarification was issued after Sebi chairman reportedly stated that ICICI Bank filed a consent petition with Sebi.

HDFC Bank (down 0.98%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.88%), HDFC (down 0.8%), Wipro (down 0.75%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.61%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.11%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.1%), were the major Sensex losers.

Overseas, Asian shares rose on Wednesday as investors reacted to Beijing's response on fresh tariffs the US implemented on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

China announced tariffs targeting more than 5,000 US products, worth about $60 billion, will go into effect on 24 September 2018. However, China will put a 10% tariff on some goods it had previously earmarked for a 20% levy. At the same time, China's commerce ministry said that it filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the US.

Beijing's announcement came after the Trump administration said the US will impose 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and those duties will rise to 25% at the end of the year.

US stocks came off earlier highs but still closed higher on Tuesday as investors shrugged off escalating trade tensions to instead focus on the robust economy.