Sensex jumps over 250 points in early trade; Nifty above 14,200

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 250 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC and ICICI Bank amid positive trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 270.69 points or 0.56 per cent higher at 48,444.75, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 80.95 points or 0.57 per cent to 14,227.20.

PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Axis Bank, ONGC and Bajaj Finance.

On the other hand, Titan, TCS, HUL and Infosys were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex ended 263.72 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 48,174.06, and Nifty fell 53.25 points or 0.38 per cent to 14,146.25.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 483.64 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

According to Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, domestic equities look to be firm at the moment.

Notably, FPIs turned net sellers after a considerable gap, which suggests profit-booking or sector rotation given sharp returns generated by select sectors like IT, pharma and metals.

US equities witnessed sharp recovery mainly on increased prospects of higher fiscal stimulus and capital expenditures towards infrastructure developments as Democrats' control in both houses of Congress will help Biden to push his agendas, said Modi.

"Notably, yesterday's rebound clearly overlooked the concerns of reversal of lower tax rates and disruption created by Trump's supporters in the US Capitol where a joint session of Congress was convened to certify Biden's victory over Trump," he added.

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

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, was trading 0.79 per cent higher at USD 54.73 per barrel.