Sensex rises over 200 points in early trade; Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank among top gainers

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC twins amid largely positive cues from Asian peers. The 30-share BSE index was trading 236.71 points or 0.49 percent higher at 48,120.09. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 68.55 points or 0.48 percent to 14,379.35. ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over three percent, followed by M&M, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance, L&T, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s and HCL Tech were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex sank 1,707.94 points or 3.44 percent to end at 47,883.38, and Nifty plunged 524.05 points or 3.53 percent to finish at 14,310.80. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,746.43 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. Domestic equities look to be modestly good at the moment, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities. “While a sharp increase in COVID-19 daily cases in the country and possibility of larger economic restrictions has dented investors’ sentiments, 4QFY21 earnings began on a strong note with TCS delivering strong earnings performance with encouraging management commentaries. “This should help IT stocks to remain in focus in the near term,” he noted. US equities finished with moderate losses overnight ahead of March inflation data and quarterly earnings of key lenders. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.49 percent higher at US $63.59 per barrel.