Sensex gains 172 points in early trade; Power, financials shine

New Delhi: Markets opened in the positive zone on Monday led by buying in power, capital goods and financial stocks.

The BSE Sensex gained 171.99 points or 0.45 percent to 38,049.33 in opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 52.05 points or 0.47 per cent to 11,230.45.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack at 10.13 am were NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, ONGC, Maruti, HCL Tech, LT, Titan and M&M, rising upto 2.94 percent. On the other hand major losers were Axis Bank, RIL, SBI, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserve, Ultrachem, Sun Parma, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance, falling upto 1.74 percent.

On Friday, the 30-share Sensex had fallen 433.15 points or 1.13 per cent to close at 37,877.34; while the 50-share Nifty had tumbled 122.05 points or 1.08 per cent to end at 11,178.40.

Meanwhile, international crude oil benchmark Brent was trading 0.40 per cent higher at USD 45.13 per barrel.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.02% lower at 562, but still eyeing the January top of 574.52. Japan`s Nikkei dipped 0.4% after touching a six-month peak on Friday, as the country suffered its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 firmed 0.25% in early trade to be just below its record close of 3,386.15, a Reuters report said.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors had purchased Indian equities worth Rs 46.39 crore on Friday.