Sensex rises by 179 pts, Nifty above 9,900 level

Mumbai :  The benchmark BSE Sensex advanced 179 points and the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 9,900-mark in early trade today on strong gains in IT, pharma and FMCG stocks. Positive global cues too influenced the investor sentiment.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 179 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 31,775.06. Sectoral Indices of IT, teck, power, realty, healthcare and banking rose by up to 1.60 per cent. The gauge had gained 337.21 points in the previous three sessions.

Stock markets were closed on Friday on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The NSE Nifty recaptured the 9,900-mark by rising 50.90 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 9,907.95. Brokers said persistent buying by domestic institutional investors and a firm trend at other Asian markets on fresh hopes Donald Trump will be able to push through market- friendly tax reforms buoyed the sentiment.

Infosys, the country’s second largest software exporter, emerged as top gainer among Sensex components by rising 3.65 per cent to Rs 945.85. The stock was up after after the company on Thursday named former CEO and Aadhaar-architect Nandan Nilekani as its new chairman. Other big gainers were Adani Ports, NTPC, Sun Pharma, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Hindustan Unilever, L&T, Lupin, HDFC Ltd, Coal India and Hero MotoCrp.

Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.28 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.47 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite edged up 0.81 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.14 per cent higher on Friday.