Sensex gains over 100 points, Nifty above 10,350; banking stocks top gainers, Airtel, Infosys shares tank over 2%

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex advanced over 100 points in early trade on Monday on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors amid firm Asian cues. Continuing its upward march for the third straight session, the 30-share index rose 136.45 points, or 0.40 percent, to 33,763.42. The gauge had gained 607.90 points in the previous two sessions. The NSE Nifty too was up 47.65 points, or 0.46 percent, at 10,379.25. [caption id=“attachment_4418263” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Sectoral indices, led by consumer durables, metal, realty and capital goods stocks, were trading in the positive zone with gains of up to 1.40 percent. Brokers said that a firm trend at other Asian markets on easing concerns about a sharp rise in US interest rates and buying by investors ahead of earnings season, scheduled to begin this week, helped lift market sentiment. Major gainers were Kotak Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Asian Paint, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki and Dr Reddy’s, gaining by up to 1.29 percent. Top losers were ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Infosys, falling up to 2 percent. Among other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.06 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.97 percent. Shanghai Composite Index too edged higher by 0.15 percent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 2.34 percent down in Friday’s trade after Donald Trump warned of tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese imports.