Sensex up 26 pts in early trade on funds buying

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by nearly 26 points in early trade today after yesterday’s fall as funds and investors bought stocks of power, metal, infrastructure, consumer durables and realty companies amidst a mixed trend in Asian markets.  The 30-share index, which had retreated from the record closing high by falling 52.76 points yesterday, recovered by 25.96 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 24,831.79 in the opening trade. In a similar fashion, the broader National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 12.30 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 7,414.55. Brokers attributed the recovery in stocks to fresh buying by funds and investors amidst a mixed trend on other Asian bourses following overnight gains on the US markets. Stocks of insurance companies such as Reliance Capital and Bajaj Finserv continued to rise on increased buying activity mostly on reports that government is contemplating raising FDI cap in the sector. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 0.19 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.30 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.09 per cent higher in yesterday’s trade. PTI