Sensex rallies over 600 pts in early trade; Nifty tops 9,300

Mumbai, Apr 27 (PTI) Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 600 points in opening trade on Monday led by gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and Infosys amid positive cues from global markets.

After hitting a high of 31,977.82, the 30-share index was trading 632.65 points or 2.02 per cent higher at 31,959.87.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty jumped 174.20 points, or 1.90 per cent, to 9,328.60.

Bajaj Auto was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, NTPC, PowerGrid and Asian Paints were the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 535.86 points or 1.68 per cent down at 31,327.22, while the NSE Nifty declined 159.50 points, or 1.71 per cent, to 9,154.40.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 207.29 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Domestic market opened on a positive note tracking global stocks that rallied as the rate of deaths from COVID-19 dropped in several badly hit countries, while leaders stepped up plans to reopen their economies, analysts said.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with significant gains in early deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.89 per cent to USD 24.34 per barrel.

Global tally of coronavirus infections has crossed 29.7 lakh, with over 2 lakh deaths.

Death toll in India rose to 872, while COVID-19 cases climbed to 27,892, as per health ministry data.