Sensex rises by over 200 points in early trade to almost 54500-mark

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, ITC and HUL amid a positive trend in global markets. The 30-share index was trading 219.52 points or 0.40 per cent higher at 54,497.24, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 65.05 points or 0.40 per cent to 16,303.25.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 215.12 points or 0.39 per cent lower at 54,277.72, and Nifty fell 56.40 points or 0.35 per cent to 16,238.20. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 69.37 crore on Friday, as per provisional exchange data.

"RBI's continued soft monetary policy stance to support ongoing economic recovery augurs well for domestic equities," said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities. He noted that further, faster vaccination process in the country and absence of sharp spike in daily caseload despite opening-up economy bode well.

Also, sharp improvement in key economic indicators like GST collection, auto sales volume and other high- frequency indicators like e-way bills in July suggests sustainable rebound in corporate earnings in subsequent quarters.

This should aid the market to sustain premium valuations, he added. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.82 per cent to USD 69.41 per barrel.