Sensex surges over 300 points in early trade; index major SBI, ICICI Bank track gains

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 300 points in opening trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, SBI and ICICI Bank amid mixed cues from global markets. The 30-share BSE index was trading 310.72 points or 0.61 percent higher at 50,851.20, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 71.90 points or 0.47 percent to 15,247.20. PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, advancing over 2 percent, followed by SBI, L&T, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Axis Bank and Dr Reddy’s. On the other hand, Titan, M&M, IndusInd Bank and HUL were among the losers. In the previous session, Sensex soared 975.62 points or 1.97 percent to finish at 50,540.48, and Nifty soared 269.25 points or 1.81 percent to close at 15,175.30. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 510.16 crore on Friday, as per provisional exchange data. Markets finally ended a two-month-long consolidation phase and gained over 3 percent last week. Signs of COVID cases peaking out combined with favourable global cues lifted sentiment, said Ajit Mishra, VP Research at Religare Broking. “We expect volatility to remain high next week due to the scheduled derivatives expiry of May month contracts. Besides, participants will be closely eyeing the COVID-related updates as the reduction in the cases has raised hopes of gradual unlocking by the states,” he added. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong and Seoul were in the red. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.65 percent higher at USD 66.78 per barrel.