Markets trade higher in early trade amid firm global equities

Equity benchmarks began the trade on a positive note on Tuesday, with the BSE Sensex climbing over 60,000-mark in early trade, in tandem with firm global markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 249.58 points to 60,081.24 in early trade. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 80.75 points to 17,811.50.

In the Sensex pack, Maruti, Dr Reddy’s, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro were among the major winners.

IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggards. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green.

Wall Street had ended higher on Monday.

In a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on Monday to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2079, the BSE benchmark jumped 524.51 points or 0.88 per cent to end at 59,831.66. The Nifty advanced 154.45 points, or 0.88 per cent, to finish at 17,730.75.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.25 per cent higher at USD 93.49 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 153.89 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.