Benchmark indices open in positive trade, Sensex climbs to 626 points

New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a positive note on Tuesday, with the Sensex climbing 626 points in early trade amid firm global market trends. The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 625.68 points to 59,036.66. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 181.3 points to 17,493.10. Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, ITC, State Bank of India and Maruti. All Sensex firms were trading in the green.

In other Asian markets, bourses in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with gains in mid-session deals. Wall Street ended significantly higher on Monday. The BSE benchmark had jumped 491.01 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at 58,410.98 on Monday. The Nifty climbed 126.10 points or 0.73 per cent to end at 17,311.80.

"In India, bulls are gaining strength aided by India's growth outperformance, good early Q2 results, declining FII selling, steadily rising DII buying and optimism ushered in by the festive season," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.29 per cent higher at USD 91.89 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the Indian capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 372.03 crore as per exchange data.