Sensex climbs over 180 points in early trade; Nifty hovers around 11,800

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 180 points in early trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in IT stocks and ahead of the outcome of the US presidential elections.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 183.86 points or 0.46 per cent higher at 40,444.99.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 49.50 points or 0.42 per cent to 11,863.00.

Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, appreciating over 4 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and TCS.

On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Axis Bank, HDFC, and ITC were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 503.55 points or 1.27 per cent higher at 40,261.13, while Nifty advanced 144.35 points or 1.24 per cent to 11,813.50.

Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has maintained his lead mid-way through the counting of votes, as Republican incumbent Donald Trump appeared to be fast catching up.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,274.40 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with significant gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.56 per cent higher at USD 40.33 per barrel.