Sensex jumps over 200 pts in early trade; Nifty tops 17,900

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Monday, led by strong gains in index majors HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries amid a largely positive global markets.

After touching another lifetime high of 60,339.28, the 30-share Sensex eased slightly but was still trading 245.62 points or 0.41 per cent higher at 60,294.09. Similarly, the Nifty surged 69.90 points or 0.39 per cent to 17,923.10.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank, SBI, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's and ITC were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index rose 163.11 points or 0.27 per cent to its record closing high of 60,048.47, and the Nifty advanced 30.25 points or 0.17 per cent to a record finish of 17,853.20.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 442.49 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.

The relentless bull-run which began in April 2020 has taken the Sensex beyond 60,000 and is now poised to push Nifty to 18,000 level today, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"The incredible return of above 130 per cent from the lows of March 2020 and above 60 per cent for the last 12 months has created phenomenal wealth for all kinds of investors. After 60,000 for Sensex and 18,000 for Nifty, markets may consolidate for a while," he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai tanked over 1 per cent in mid-session deals, while Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading with gains.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.18 per cent to USD 78.14 per barrel.