Markets open on strong note; Sensex jumps 503 points

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices rebounded in early trade on Monday in-tandem with a rally in Asian markets along with buying in blue chip firms HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 503.47 points to 71,204.14 points in the early trade. Nifty climbed 178.55 points to 21,531.15 points.

Among the Sensex firms, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, Larsen and Toubro, NTPC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.

JSW Steel, Infosys, ITC and Mahindra And Mahindra were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the positive territory. The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.51 per cent to $83.98 a barrel.

Markets were closed on Friday on account of Republic Day.

On Thursday, Sensex declined 359.64 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 70,700.67 points while Nifty fell 101.35 points or 0.47 per cent to 21,352.60 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,144.06 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.