Sensex jumps by over 250 points in early trading; Nifty rises to 15,250

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 250 points in opening trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index heavyweights Infosys, Asian Paints and HDFC amid a positive trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE index was trading 265.07 points or 0.52 per cent higher at 50,916.97, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 86 points or 0.57 per cent to 15,283.70. Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, advancing nearly 3 percent, followed by M&M, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, NTPC, HUL, ONGC and Infosys. On the other hand, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and Dr Reddy’s were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex advanced 111.42 points or 0.22 per cent to finish at 50,651.90, and Nifty rose 22.40 points or 0.15 per cent to 15,197.70. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 585.36 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange data. “Domestic equities look to be good for the day. Notably, continued decline in daily caseload in the second wave (fell below two lakh on Monday after 40 days) and improvement in recovery rates have certainly bolstered investors’ confidence as this can reinvigorate sluggish economy faster,” said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. On Wall Street, equities ended with gains in overnight trade. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.25 per cent higher at USD 68.54 per barrel.