Sensex rises over 200 pts in early trade: Nifty tops 9,350

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Thursday as index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank extended their gains ahead of May derivatives expiry.

After touching a high of 31,899.31 in opening session, the 30-share index was trading 259.92 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 31,865.14.

Similarly, NSE Nifty rose 81.20 points or 0.87 per cent to 9,396.15.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, L&T, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, M&M, ITC, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, TCS and HCL Tech were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 995.92 points or 3.25 per cent higher at 31,605.22, while the broader Nifty surged 285.90 points or 3.17 per cent to 9,314.95.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors sold equities worth Rs 334.74 crore in the capital market on Wednesday, provisional exchange data showed.

Benchmarks are rising on account of short-covering by market participants ahead of May derivatives expiry, analysts said.

However, investor sentiment continues to remain cautious as coronavirus cases has been on a rise in the country, they noted.

The number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1,58,333 and the death toll touched 4,531, as per health ministry data.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 56.93 lakh and the deceased tally stood around 3.55 lakh.

Meanwhile, bourses in Tokyo and Seoul were trading with gains as optimism over the reopening of major economies across the planet continued to push equities higher.

Benchmarks in Shanghai and Hong Kong were in the red tracking rising US-China tensions.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a positive note in overnight trade.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 2.53 per cent lower at USD 33.86 per barrel.