Sensex climbs to 61k level in early trade on firm Asian markets

MUMBAI: Benchmark indices maintained their winning momentum for the fourth day running on Tuesday helped by a rally in Asian markets and continuous foreign fund inflow.

The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 378.3 points to 61,124.89.On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 118.5 points to 18,130.70.

From the Sensex pack, Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Power Grid, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major winners.

Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Tata Steel were the laggards. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading higher.

Wall Street had ended lower on Monday. The BSE benchmark rallied 786.74 points or 1.31 per cent to settle at 60,746.59 on Monday.

The Nifty advanced 225.40 points or 1.27 per cent to end at 18,012.20.International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.98 per cent lower at USD 94.83 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Monday as they bought shares worth Rs 4,178.61 crore, as per exchange data.