Sensex surges over 260 pts in early trade; Nifty above 17,470

The 30-share index was trading 262.86 points or 0.45 per cent higher at 58,724.15 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty rose 68.45 points or 0.39 per cent to 17,470.10.

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 262 points in early trade on Friday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, ICICI Bank and HDFC amid mixed cues from Asian markets.

The 30-share index was trading 262.86 points or 0.45 per cent higher at 58,724.15 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty rose 68.45 points or 0.39 per cent to 17,470.10.

Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 1.86 per cent, followed by L&T, Axis Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, M&M and HDFC.

On the other hand, Nestle India, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints were among the losers.

In the previous session, the 30-share equity benchmark soared 776.50 points or 1.35 per cent to finish at 58,461.29. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty surged 234.75 points or 1.37 per cent to 17,401.65.

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

Stock exchanges in the US ended with significant gains in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.82 per cent to USD 70.24 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 909.71 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.

---