MUMBAI: Equity benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 200 points in early trade on Friday led by gains in index heavyweights Infosys, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI, amid mixed domestic cues.
After hitting a high of 39,241.61, the 30-share index was trading 137.92 points, or 0.35 per cent, higher at 39,158.31 in morning trade, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 31.25 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 11,613.85.
ITC was the top gainers in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, after the company reported a 37.06 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,173.72 crore for the second quarter ended on September. SBI, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and Maruti too gained up to 2 per cent.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, M&M, HCL Tech, ONGC, NTPC, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC and Bajaj Auto were among the top losers, shedding up to 2.5 per cent. In the previous session on Thursday, the 30-share Sensex ended 38.44 points, or 0.10 per cent, lower at 39,020.39. The broader NSE Nifty slipped 21.50 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 11,582.60.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, offloading Rs 72.87 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 738.75 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.
According to experts, mixed news flow on the domestic front is likely to keep the market volatile throughout the day.
Supreme Court's to allow the Centre to recover dues of about Rs 92,000 crore from telcos has shaken the telecom companies, as well as their lenders like private and public banks, said Shrikant Chouhan, Senior Vice-President, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities. Also, assembly elections results were little below expectations that has increased short term nervousness in the market, he added.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a tepid note. On Wall Street, stock exchanges finished in the green on Thursday. The rupee, meanwhile, appreciated 6 paise against the US dollar to trade at 70.96 in early session. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.47 per cent to USD 61.38 per barrel.