After a dull of three consecutive days this year, Equity benchmark indices opened in positive on Thursday. In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 351.88 points to 71,708.48. Meanwhile, the Nifty also gained 99 points to 21,616.35 points.
Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, Titan and Reliance Industries were the major winners. HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting in the negative territory. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.27 per cent to USD 78.46 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 666.34 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Ruppe against dollar
Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, as the support from positive domestic equities were negated by rising crude oil prices. Forex traders said foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.30 against the dollar and then touched a low of 83.32, registering a fall of just 2 paise over its previous close.
(With PTI inputs)
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