Opening Bell: Sensex Gains 74 Points In Early Trade As Crude Oil Eases

Market benchmark BSE Sensex on Wednesday climbed 74 points backed by gains in select private bank, financial and metal stocks amid easing global crude prices. The appreciating rupee and mixed leads from other Asian markets too influenced sentiment, traders said. The 30-share index was trading 74.04 points or 0.18 per cent higher at 40,313.92 in morning trade. The broader Nifty was trading 29.50 points or 0.25 per cent up at 11,886.30.

In the Sensex kitty, ICICI Bank emerged as the biggest gainer with 0.88 per cent rise, followed by M&M, ITC, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Tata Steel, NTPC, L&T, and HDFC.

On the other hand, Yes Bank continued to bleed with a steep 4.45 per cent fall among the losers. Other laggards include, SBI, HUL, PowerGrid, Reliance, Bharti Airtel, Vedants and HeroMotoCorp, declining up to 0.94 per cent. 

In the previous session, the 30-share gauge  closed 247.55 points or 0.61 per cent lower at 40,239.88. On similar lines, the 50-scrip NSE Nifty fell 80.70 points or 0.68 per cent to finish at 11,856.80.

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market, offloading Rs 366.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 338.40 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 8 paise to 70.84 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.71 per cent to USD 63.88 per barrel.

In early trade, Hong Kong gained 0.25 per cent, Shanghai inched up 0.10 per cent, while Tokyo and Shenzhen were trading in red.

Singapore and Seoul surged up to 1.35 per cent in morning trade.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones closed 0.1 per cent lower at 27,881.72.