Stock Markets Trade Higher In Early Deals On Buying In IT Shares, Fresh Foreign Fund Inflows

Mumbai, Feb 26: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rose in early trading on Thursday, driven by buying in IT stocks and renewed foreign fund inflows. Gains in the US markets further supported the benchmark indices’ upward momentum at the start of the session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 303 points to 82,579.16 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up 85.1 points to 25,567.60. From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Eternal, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti were among the biggest gainers.

InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 5,118.57 crore.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were trading in positive territory, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted lower. The US market ended higher on Wednesday. Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.25 per cent to USD 71.03 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the Sensex ended 50.15 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 82,276.07. The Nifty went up by 57.85 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 25,482.50.