Markets extend rally, Nifty regains 10,600

New Delhi: Markets extended rally on Monday with the NSE Nifty regaining 10,600 amidst healthy buying in IT, healthcare, capital goods counters, though oil and gas stocks traded in the red.

The Sensex which opened at 35,287.49 from its previous close at 35,158.55, was trading at 35,272.09 higher by 113.54 points or 0.32 percent at 9.17 a.m. The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,607.80 after closing at 10,585.20 on Friday. It was trading at 10,619.25 during the morning trade session, up 34.05 points and 0.32 percent.

The rupee weakened by 26 paise to 72.76 against the US dollar Monday, owing to increased demand for the American currency from importers amid increasing global crude oil prices.

Meanwhile, on net basis, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 614.14 crore, while DIIs sold share to the tune of Rs 337.28 crore Friday, provisional data showed.

All the sectoral indices led by consumer durables, IT, healthcare and banking were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 1.66 percent.

Among the Sensex constituents, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, Infosys, HDFC Ltd, Tata Steel, M&M, TCS, ONGC, Coal India, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Vedanta Ltd, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were major gainers, rising by up to 1.49 percent.

Asian shares fell as weak oil prices rekindled anxiety about the outlook for world growth. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.17 percent in early trade. Australian shares were down 0.08 percent, while Japan`s Nikkei stock index eased 0.12 percent, Reuters said.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.92 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.65 percent.