Markets extend gains in early trade; Sensex rises nearly 180 points, Nifty above 11,950

New Delhi: Markets opened in green  on Friday, tracking gains in index majors amid positive cues from global markets.

The BSE Sensex rose 178.45 points or 0.44 percent to 40,736.94 in early trade while the NSE Nifty jumped 57.30 points or 0.48 percent to 11,953.75.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Powergrid, Maruti, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, RIL, M&M, Asian Paint, Bajaj Finserve, NTPC, Titan, and Bajaj Finserve, rising upto 2.79 percent. On the other hand, major losers were HUL, Ultrachem, HCL Tech, Infosys, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Nestle, and ITC, falling upto 0.67 percent.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 148.82 points or 0.37 per cent lower at 40,558.49, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 41.20 points or 0.35 per cent to 11,896.45.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,118.46 crore on a net basis on Thursday.

Among Asian peers, Japan`s Nikkei 225 index were up 0.3%. Australia`s S&P ASX 200 and MSCI`s gauge of stocks across the globe were roughly flat. Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index futures were down 0.11%, a Reuters report said.