Sensex jumps over 200 pts, Nifty hits record 11,750

The BSE benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on April 16 led by gains in banking, metal, oil and gas, telecom and auto stocks, amid unabated foreign fund inflows and positive global cues.

The 30-share index was trading 239.11 points or 0.61% higher at 39,144.95, and the NSE Nifty was trading 63.35 points, or 0.54%, up at 11,753.70 in early session.

In the previous session, the BSE index settled 138.73 points, or 0.36%, higher at 38,905.84, while the broader Nifty rose 46.90 points, or 0.40%, to close at 11,690.35.

According to Hemang Jani, Head – Advisory, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, Q4FY19 earnings season will remain crucial for further upside in the market.

“The rally in the market has been mainly due to aggressive buying by the FIIs; and for valuations to sustain, there needs to be an uptick in earnings growth this quarter,” he said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equity worth ₹713.22 crore on April 15, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of ₹581.36 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Top gainers in early trade include ICICI Bank, Vedanta, Coal India, M&M, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, RIL and HCL Tech, rising up to 2.67%.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and HUL were the only losers in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 0.65%.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated marginally to 69.49 against the US dollar in early trade.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was 0.25% lower at USD 71 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were positive in early trade.