Sensex rallies over 560 points in early trade; Nifty tops 12,000 level

New Delhi: Markets rallied in early trade on Thursday tracking gains in index-heavyweights amid positive global cues.

The BSE Sensex rose 561.81 points or 1.38 percent to 41,177.95 in early trade while the NSE Nifty jumped 165.50 points or 1.39 percent to 12,074.00. Nifty has risen above 12,000 for the 1st time since October 21.

Other than Powergrid and Titan, all the other constituents in the Sensex pack were trading in green. Major gainers were SBI, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paint, Nestle, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Ultrachem, Bajaj Finserve, Maruti and Axis Bank, rising upto 5.10 percent.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 355.01 points or 0.88 per cent higher at 40,616.14, while Nifty climbed 95 points or 0.80 per cent to 11,908.50.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 146.22 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 1.3% to reach its highest since February, 2018. Japan`s Nikkei rose 1.1% to a nine-month top and South Korea put on 1.5%. Chinese blue chips gained 0.8%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, after sharp gains overnight, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.3%, a Reuters report said.