Sensex shows traction, up 117 on monsoon update, strong Q4

Mumbai: Adding to its rally for the fifth straight session, the benchmark Sensex surged about 117 points in early trade today as investors went in for more bets amid upbeat fourth quarter numbers and on monsoon hopes.

The 30-share barometer rose 116.82 points, or 0.43 percent, to 26,770.42. The gauge had gained 1,423.24 points in the previous four sessions.

Also, the NSE Nifty was trading higher by 38.20 points, or 0.46 percent, at 8,194.85.

The big movers that supported the key indices are Coal India, SBI, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy's, ITC, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Infosys and ONGC, advancing by up to 3.80 percent.

Sun Pharma was trading higher by 0.89 percent at Rs 832.85 ahead of its earnings later in the day today.

Brokers said sustained buying by investors, foreign capital inflows and encouraging March quarter earnings by some more companies bolstered sentiment.

A positive update on monsoon progress kept things upbeat.

Moreover, a strong trend in Asian markets proved to be a big trigger.

In the rest of Asia, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.89 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.86 percent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite was trading 0.19 percent higher.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.25 percent higher in Friday's trade.