Sensex rises 190 points in early trade after two days of losses

MUMBAI: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Wednesday after two days of losses amid easing crude oil prices and buying in blue-chip IT stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 190 points to 72,733.04 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty was up 22 points to 22,735.20.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, InterGlobe Aviation, ICICI Bank and Trent were among the major winners.

Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.68 per cent higher at USD 103.3 per barrel.

"Indian equities are likely to find some relief at the open as a sharp pullback in crude oil prices eases one of the key pressures that has weighed on domestic markets in recent sessions," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

The moderation in oil prices, however, comes against a backdrop of continued uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict and the outlook for regional energy supplies, he added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Japan's Nikkei 225 index quoted marginally higher.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 9,980.22 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex dropped 242.65 points, or 0.33 per cent, to settle at 72,529.07. The Nifty declined 64.05 points, or 0.28 per cent, to end at 22,716.20.