Sensex above 31,000 at open, market takes gains further

The market hit a bright spot straightaway today as the Sensex moved beyond 31,000 at the start, extending its weekend gains following the GST kick-off amid mixed Asian cues.

However, growth of eight core sectors slowed to 3.6 per cent in May dragged down by coal and fertilisers, which acted as a sobering factor.

The 30-share index, after soaring 337 points to touch a high of 31,258.33 at the outset, let go of some gains and traded at 31,069.20, up 147.59 points, or 0.48 per cent. FMCG, metal, consumer durables, realty and auto stocks went higher by up to 3.42 per cent.

The gauge had rallied 87.29 points in the previous two sessions.

The NSE index Nifty recaptured the 9,600 level by surging 91.85 points, or 0.96  per cent, to 9,612.75.

Investors remained optimistic of the GST rollout on July 1 as they felt that the sweeping tax reform will give huge momentum to the country's economy and tempt global businesses to invest here, traders said.

ITC climbed 5.79 per cent, Tata Steel 1.16 per cent and M&M 1.10 per cent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.08 per cent and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.13 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite, however, came down 0.17 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.29 per cent higher on Friday.