Sensex rises 99 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex rose over 99 points to trade above the key 30,000-mark in early trade today on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors as well as retail investors amid positive global cues.

The 30-share index was trading 99.41 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 30,020.59 with all sectoral indices led by realty, power, auto, metal and capital goods trading in the positive zone. The Sensex had a marginal gain of 2.78 points yesterday.

In today's early trade, the NSE Nifty too advanced by 32.50 points, or 0.34 per cent, to



9,346.30. Bucking the trend, shares of ICICI Bank fell 0.09 per cent to trade at Rs 275.70 ahead of quarterly earnings, to be released after trading hours today.

Dealers said building up of positions in select counters amid sustained buying by domestic institutional investors and overnight gains on the US markets influenced the sentiment. Globally, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.17 per cent higher in yesterday's trade. In the Asian region, financial markets in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea are closed today for public holidays.