Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in early trade Thursday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC Bank, Infosys and ICICI Bank amid a positive trend in global markets.
The 30-share BSE index was trading 444.17 points or 0.85 per cent higher at 52,642.68 in initial deals, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 129.15 points or 0.83 per cent to 15,761.25.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, HUL, ICICI Bank and Infosys.
On the other hand, Asian Paints, PowerGrid, Bajaj Auto and Dr Reddy’s were among the laggards.
In the previous session on Tuesday, Sensex ended 354.89 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 52,198.51, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 120.30 points or 0.76 per cent to 15,632.10.
Stock markets were closed on Wednesday on account of ‘Bakri Id’.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,834.96 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.
According to Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, domestic equities are likely to see some amount of recovery during the day.
“Selling pressure especially in financials due to concerns over asset quality dragged the market in the last couple of days. Further, mounting concerns over global growth due to recent rise in delta variant coronavirus cases in different parts of the world have weighed on sentiments.
“However, we continue to believe that the underlying strength of the domestic market remains intact and therefore any meaningful correction in the market should be taken as an opportunity to get in quality stocks,” he stated.
On the global front, US equities recovered sharply in the last two days as strong earnings reported by corporates and buy-on-dips in an improving economy trend overshadowed concerns with regards to spread of delta plus variants in various parts of the world, Modi added.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with strong gains in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to USD 71.94 per barrel.
