Stock markets update: Equity benchmark indices opened higher in early trade on Monday amid positive global cues. In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 69.63 points to 79,102.36. Meanwhile, the Nifty was also up by 37.85 points to 24,048.45 points.
Among the Sensex pack, Maruti, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Nestle were the biggest gainers. NTPC, Power Grid, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were quoting higher.
US markets ended lower on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.52 per cent to USD 85.44 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 23.09 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Rupee against dollar
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 9 paise to 83.43 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid rising crude oil prices and outflow of foreign capital. The domestic unit, however, found support due to a softening American currency and positive equity market sentiment, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.39 and lost further ground to trade at 83.43 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a fall of 9 paise from its previous closing level. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 105.30, lower by 0.23 per cent.
(With PTI inputs)
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