Sensex surges over 300 points in early trade; Nifty above 14,800

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 300 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid a mixed trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 301.17 points or 0.61 per cent higher at 50,072.46, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 94.40 points or 0.64 per cent to 14,830.80.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement and Maruti.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex ended 86.95 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 49,771.29, and Nifty dipped 7.60 points or 0.05 per cent to 14,736.40.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 786.98 crore, as per exchange data.

Domestic equities look to be modestly good at the moment, said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.

"A resurgence of COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country and resultant restrictions have clearly made investors jittery. This could continue to restrict market performance in the near term unless the virus spread is controlled."

"However, recent drop in crude prices and resilient INR against dollar offer comfort. We further believe that 10-Year USA treasury yield is unlikely to move beyond a limit given rising yields factor in better prospects of economic recovery," he said.

US markets finished higher yesterday mainly led by a sharp rebound in technology stocks, Modi said, adding that investors also got comfort after AstraZeneca cited that its COVID-19 vaccine was safe and 79 per cent effective in preventing the virus.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.91 per cent lower at USD 64.03 per barrel.