Sensex gains 328 points in early trade; Nifty nears 16,000-level

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Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 328 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank amid largely positive Asian markets. After a positive start, the 30-share BSE benchmark index gained 328 points to 53,562.83 in early trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 99.7 points to 15,935.05. Among the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Steel, Infosys, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers in early deals. ITC and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards from the pack.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading with gains, while Shanghai quoted marginally lower. The US markets were closed for a holiday on Monday.

In the previous session, the BSE index had gained 326.84 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 53,234.77 on Monday. The Nifty went higher by 83.30 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 15,835.35.Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.01 per cent to USD 113.49 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,149.56 crore on Monday, as per exchange data. India's merchandise exports in June rose by 16.78 per cent year-on-year to USD 37.94 billion while the trade deficit ballooned to a record USD 25.63 billion on account of a steep increase in gold and crude oil imports, according to the government's preliminary data released on Monday.