Markets climb in early trade on firm global trends

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices climbed in early trade on Thursday amid a firm trend in global equities and buying in banking stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 309.85 points or 0.38 per cent to 81,776.95 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up 90.70 points or 0.36 per cent to 25,072.65.

From the 30 Sensex companies, PowerGrid, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.

Infosys, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading higher.

Wall Street ended with gains in overnight deals on Wednesday.

"The record highs in the US market, positive trends in Asian markets, and the Reserve Bank of India's dovish commentary have uplifted market sentiment," Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent Crude climbed 0.77 per cent to USD 77.18 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,562.71 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,508.61 crore, according to exchange data.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday but took the first step towards a rate cut as it eased its relatively hawkish policy stance to 'neutral'.

The monetary policy committee, which included three RBI officials and an equal number of new external members, voted five-to-one to keep the benchmark repurchase or repo rate - which governs the interest rate of home, auto, corporate and other loans - at 6.5 per cent for a 10th straight policy meeting.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 167.71 points or 0.21 per cent to close at 81,467.1 and NSE Nifty dropped 31.20 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 24,981.95.