Sensex jumps 500 points in early trade tracking firm global markets

MUMBAI: Equity markets continued their previous day rally, with the Sensex jumping 500 points in early trade, mirroring positive trends from global equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 500.05 points to 54,752.58.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 159.2 points to 16,329.35.

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro and Bajaj Finance were the prominent gainers in early trade.

In contrast, NTPC, Power Grid, Nestle, Dr Reddy's and Tata Steel were the laggards.

The Sensex rallied 503.27 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 54,252.53 on Thursday.

The Nifty gained 144.35 points or 0.90 per cent to end at 16,170.15.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the green.

Stock markets in the US had ended significantly higher on Thursday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.17 per cent to USD 117.60 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree as they offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,597.84 crore on Thursday, as per stock exchange data.

"FPI selling, the main trigger for the market weakness in India, is showing signs of exhaustion. DIIs (domestic institutional investors) and retail buying and overwhelming FPI selling along with short covering can trigger a near-term rally," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.