Sensex rallies over 350 points in early trade; Nifty tops 13,700

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 350 points in opening trade on Thursday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank amid positive cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 355.23 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 46,799.41, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 109.25 points or 0.80 per cent to 13,710.35.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 5 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Titan, IndusInd Bank, HDFC duo and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Infosys, Dr Reddy's Lab, TCS and Nestle India were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex rallied 437.49 points or 0.95 per cent to close at 46,444.18, and Nifty surged 134.80 points or 1 per cent to 13,601.10.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 536.13 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Domestic equities look to be good at the moment, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, adding that Asian markets are trading positive as the outline of Brexit trade deal was reached.

"Further, fear of a new coronavirus strain seems to be easing out now with select European countries opening borders for Britain.

FPIs flow continues to remain a key driving force for domestic equities, which is expected to sustain in the near term in the backdrop of weak dollar, soft monetary policies of global central bankers and fiscal stimulus in the USA.

"Sustainability of recovery in key economic data and 3QFY21 earnings are likely to play important roles for domestic markets for the sustainability of premium valuations in the near term," he said.

US equities finished mostly higher as investors monitored the progress of the coronavirus vaccine and chances of a revived economy in 2021.

However, President Donald Trump's opposition to recent bills passed by the Congress offered some discomfort towards the last session of trade.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.41 per cent higher at USD 51.45 per barrel.