Sensex surges over 300 points; Nifty tops 17,150 level

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 300 points in early trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank amid a largely positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share index surged 320.31 points or 0.56 per cent to 57,740.55 in the opening trade. Similarly, the Nifty rose 94.70 points or 0.55 per cent to 17,180.95.

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, L&T, Infosys, HCL Tech and PowerGrid.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's was the sole laggard.

In the previous session, the 30-share equity benchmark settled 295.93 points or 0.52 per cent higher at 57,420.24, and Nifty recovered 82.50 points or 0.49 per cent to 17,086.25.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,038.25 crore on Monday, according to stock exchange data.

"If the market's ability to discount the future turns right, the global economy is likely to clock decent growth in 2022," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The resilience of the US market (S&P 500 registered its 69th record high yesterday) and the spike in crude are indications that the Omicron variant, though surging, is unlikely to impact economic activity in any meaningful way, he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Seoul and Tokyo were positive.

Stock exchanges in the US ended with strong gains in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.12 per cent to USD 78.31 per barrel.

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