MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early trade on Friday, supported by buying in IT stocks and firm trends in the US markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 451.46 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 75,850.18 in morning trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty rose 143.25 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 23,832.85.
Among the major gainers from the Sensex pack were Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Bajaj Finance, and Maruti Suzuki India.
On the other hand, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Eternal, Bharat Electronics Ltd, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent and Asian Paints were the laggards.
Shares of oil marketing companies dropped over 2 per cent after petrol and diesel prices were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses of fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices.
"The decision to increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre and CNG by Rs 2 per kg indicate that the government is playing it safe through small increases, perhaps stage by stage, without triggering a sharp spike in cost-push inflation. This is a welcome step," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose more than 1 per cent to USD 107.01 per barrel.
In Asian markets, South Korea's KOSPI benchmark, Japan's Nikkei 225, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted in the green.
US markets ended nearly 1 per cent higher in overnight deals on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased stocks for Rs 684.33 crore, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 789.74 points to close at 75,398.72. Extending gains to the second day, the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 277 points to finish at 23,689.60.