Equity Benchmark Indexes Surge In Early Trade

The equity benchmark indices opened higher on Tuesday, boosted by strong buying in healthcare and IT firms.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 561.13 points or 0.79 percent to 71,984.78 points in early trading. The Nifty soared 160.45 points or 0.74 percent to 21,732.25 points.

Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, and TCS were the top Sensex gainers.

Among the laggards were Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, and Maruti.

On Friday, the Dow and the S&P 500 set fresh closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq touched its highest level in two years.

In Asia markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korean Kospi, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading higher, while China’s Shanghai Composite was in the negative.

Brent crude fell 0.03 percent to USD 80.04 a barrel.

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold securities worth Rs 545.58 crore on Saturday.

European markets closed mostly higher on Friday.

On Saturday, NSE and BSE had normal trading sessions, while the domestic equity market was closed on January 22, owing to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

On Saturday, the 30-share BSE Sensex slid 259.58 points or 0.36 percent to 71,423.65. The Nifty lost 50.60 points or 0.23 percent to 21,571.80.

Also read: 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang Border