Sensex surges over 250 pts in early trade; Nifty tops 16,300

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 250 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, despite a largely negative trend in global markets.

The 30-share index was trading 257.31 points or 0.47 per cent higher at 54,660.16, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 64.05 points or 0.39 per cent to 16,322.30.

HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, ITC, Bajaj Auto and Nestle India were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 125.13 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 54,402.85, while Nifty advanced 20.05 points or 0.12 per cent to 16,258.25.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 211.91 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange data.

A likelihood of complete reopening of the economy supported by continued low positivity rates and faster vaccination process augurs well, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, the Reserve Bank of India’s continued soft monetary policy stance to support ongoing economic recovery indicated a sustained low interest rate scenario in the country, which is important to foster growth, he noted.

US equities ended mostly lower as spread of delta variant of coronavirus and downgrade of China growth by Goldman Sachs weighed on investor sentiments and triggered profit booking, Modi added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Shanghai and Seoul were in the red.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.46 per cent to USD 69.36 per barrel.