Sensex rises 80 points in early trade on fund inflows

The final trading session of financial year 2015-16 began on a positive note today with the benchmark BSE Sensex rising about 80 points to 25,418.52 on sustained buying by investors and foreign funds amid mixed global cues.

Besides, short-covering by speculators in view of March monthly expiry in the futures and options space supported the upside.

Today is the last trading session of March contracts in the derivatives segment.

The 30-share index rose 79.94 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 25,418.52, with stocks of IT, tech, healthcare, power and auto sectors leading the rise.

The barometer had soared 438.12 points in the previous session, the biggest single-day rally in nearly a month, tracking firm global trend after the US Federal Reserve softened its stance on rate hikes.

The broader NSE Nifty too spurted by 19.10 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 7,754.30.

Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Wipro, NTPC, Lupin, ITC Ltd, Dr Reddy’s, Bharti Airtel and RIL were among major gainers, which helped the indices.

In the rest of Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.07 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.24 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.18 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.47 per cent higher yesterday.