Sensex rallied over 500 points in early trade today

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 500 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking gains in Reliance Industries, Titan and ICICI Bank amid a positive trend in global equities.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 571.25 points or 0.97 per cent higher at 59,760.98. Similarly, the Nifty rose 164.25 points or 0.93 per cent to 17,810.25.

All Sensex components were trading on a positive note. Titan was the top gainer, soaring nearly 9 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, M&M, Maruti, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries and L&T.

In the previous session, the 30-share index ended 555.15 points or 0.93 per cent lower at 59,189.73, and Nifty tumbled 176.30 points or 0.99 per cent to 17,646.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 802.81 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

"Nifty's range of 17,500- 18,000 is likely to be broken in the next few days. Outcomes of probable Taper timelines, MPC meeting and Q2 results are likely to be market moving," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief



Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

An area of concern is the MPC sounding caution on the inflation front and gradually moving away from accommodative monetary policy, he said, adding that the Central bank will have to initiate measures to absorb the excess liquidity in the system.

Globally, the US Fed's communication on the Taper timeline, which in turn will be influenced by the non-farm payrolls data, will be keenly watched by the markets, he noted.

"While the bears swear by the elevated valuations in the markets, the bulls are optimistic about the prospects of steady rise in corporate earnings for the next 3 to 4 years," he pointed out.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals. Shanghai was closed for the holidays.

Stock exchanges in the US also ended on a positive note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.60 per cent to USD 80.59 per barrel.