Sensex Surges Over 200 Pts in Early Trade; Nifty Tops 16,300

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, ITC and HUL amid a positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share index was trading 219.52 points or 0.40 per cent higher at 54,497.24, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 65.05 points or 0.40 per cent to 16,303.25.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy’s and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

"RBI’s continued soft monetary policy stance to support ongoing economic recovery augurs well for domestic equities," said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, faster vaccination process in the country and absence of sharp spike in daily caseload despite opening-up economy bode well, he noted.

Sharp improvement in key economic indicators like GST collection, auto sales volume and other high- frequency indicators like e-way bills in July suggests sustainable rebound in corporate earnings in subsequent quarters. This should aid the market to sustain premium valuations, Modi added.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has declared that the count of active Covid-19 cases in the country has dipped to 4,02,188. A single-day rise of 35,499 cases and 447 fatalities has pushed India's infection tally to 3,19,69,954, and death toll to 4,28,309

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