Sensex jumps over 100 points in early trade; Nifty tests 12,900

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rose over 100 points in opening trade on Thursday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, L&T and Reliance Industries amid largely positive cues from global markets and sustained foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 120.03 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 43,948.13.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was 37.70 points or 0.29 per cent up at 12,896.10.

Bajaj Auto was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by M&M, L&T, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Titan and Tata Steel.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Maruti and ONGC were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex slumped 694.92 points or 1.56 per cent to finish at 43,828.10. The index touched a lifetime high of 44,825.37 in the opening session. Nifty too touched a record intra-day peak of 13,145.85, before ending 196.75 points or 1.51 per cent down at 12,858.40.

According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, Wednesday's market correction indicates the vulnerability of markets at high levels and high valuations.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 24.20 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

The trend of mid-small-cap outperformance is likely to continue. It is important to appreciate that India now is the best emerging market performer and the largest recipient of FII flows during the last two months, he noted.

Market may be discounting the sharp recovery in GDP growth and corporate earnings expected in 2021-22. Also, India Inc has done well to control cost and protect margins during this pandemic-triggered crisis, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a mixed note in overnight session.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.62 per cent higher at USD 48.83 per barrel.