Sensex jumps over 200 points in early trade

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Friday tracking gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, HUL, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 217.95 points, or 0.60 per cent, higher at 36,689.63.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 71.50 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 10,811.45.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 4 per cent, followed by ONGC, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, HUL, HDFC duo, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, M&M and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer ended 419.87 points, or 1.16 per cent, higher at 36,471.68, and the broader Nifty surged 121.75 points, or 1.15 per cent, to end at 10,739.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on



Thursday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,091.08 crore, provisional exchange data showed.

According to traders, positive earnings reports from key index components led to stock-specific buying, lifting benchmarks in early trade.

Gains were, however, capped as spike in coronavirus cases weighed on investor sentiment.

Bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul were trading on a positive note, while Shanghai and Tokyo were in the red.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended with losses in overnight session.

The number of COVID-19 cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.37 crore.

In India, the number of infections spiked over 10 lakh, according to the health ministry.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.16 per cent to USD 43.30 per barrel.