Sensex jumps over 200 points in early trade; Asian Paints, Infosys among top gainers

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in opening trade on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, Reliance Industries and Asian Paints amid positive trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE index was trading 274.03 points or 0.54 percent higher at 50,669.11, and the broader NSE Nifty was up 75.10 points or 0.50 percent at 15,004.60.

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 percent, followed by Titan, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Reliance Industries and M&M. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, NTPC and SBI were the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex had ended 397 points or 0.78 percent lower at 50,395.08. The broader NSE Nifty finished 101.45 points or 0.67 percent down at 14,929.50. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,101.35 crore, as per exchange data.

“We are now in a highly volatile phase where the market swings on a daily basis, responding to major triggers. The major trigger now is the US bond yield which has the potential to move huge money,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. Rising bond yield triggers selling in equity markets and when yields cool down buying resumes, he said, adding that bear hammering and short covering are making markets excessively volatile.

“Consecutive 2 days of institutional selling – by both FIIs and DIIs – weakened the Indian market. But this is not a directional trend. Post the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet and a possible affirmation of the dovish stance by the Fed, the market may resume its upward move. Presently top quality financials present a buying opportunity,” he noted. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

US equities too ended with gains in the overnight session. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.83 percent lower at US $68.31 per barrel.