Sensex builds on gains, rises 288 points, Nifty claims 10,800 mark

The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by about 288 points and the NSE Nifty claimed the 10,800 mark, in early trade Monday, extending gains for the second straight session on continued buying by domestic investors and positive cues in global markets.

Traders said, the domestic equities mirrored a firm trend at other Asian bourses, while market sentiments were also lifted by US-China trade talks.

Both US and China, have expressed an interest in settling their tariff fight. Envoys of both nations will have discussions during meetings Monday and Tuesday.

The 30-share index rose 287.74 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 35,982.84 after hitting a high of 36,033.20. The gauge had gained 181.39 points in the previous session.

The NSE Nifty too edged higher by 84.90 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 10,812.25.

Sectoral indices led by metal, consumer durables, capital goods, IT, bankex, healthcare, infrastructure and power were trading higher by up to 1.75 per cent.

Vedanta Ltd emerged as top gainer in the Sensex kitty rising by 2.56 per cent, followed by Tata Steel at 2.31 per cent.

Other gainers include Tata Motors, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, RIL, M&M, Sun Pharma, ITC Ltd, L&T, Bharti Airtel, TCS, SBI, Infosys, HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd, rising by up to 2.30 per cent.

Traders said, sentiments were buoyed largely in tandem with a firming trend at other Asian markets, tracking weekend gains at the Wall Street on a dovish turn by the Federal Reserve and robust US jobs data for December.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors bought equities to the tune of Rs 240.60 crore, while FIIs sold shares a worth Rs 157.72 crore Friday, according to provisional data.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was trading higher by 2.82 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.76 per cent in their early deals. The Shanghai Composite index was up by 0.49 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 3.29 per cent higher in Friday's trade.