Sensex Surges Over 250 Pts in Early Trade; Nifty Tops 16,300

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 250 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, despite a largely negative trend in global markets.

The 30-share index was trading 257.31 points or 0.47 per cent higher at 54,660.16, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 64.05 points or 0.39 per cent to 16,322.30.

HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, ITC, Bajaj Auto and Nestle India were among the laggards.

A likelihood of complete reopening of the economy supported by continued low positivity rates and faster vaccination process augurs well, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, the Reserve Bank of India's continued soft monetary policy stance to support ongoing economic recovery indicated a sustained low interest rate scenario in the country, which is important to foster growth, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has declared that the country has recorded 28,204 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, 20 per cent less than yesterday. This is the lowest in nearly five months.

US equities ended mostly lower as spread of delta variant of coronavirus and downgrade of China growth by Goldman Sachs weighed on investor sentiments and triggered profit booking, Modi added.

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.