Opening Bell: Sensex rises over 100 points in early trade

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 100 points Friday led by gains in banking and auto stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflow and easing crude prices. The 30-share index was trading 107.81 points, or 0.28 per cent, higher at 39,089.24. Similarly, the NSE Nifty up 22.45 points, or 0.91 per cent, at 11,747.20.

In the previous session, the BSE bourse settled 50.12 points, or 0.13 per cent, lower at 38,981.43; and the broader Nifty slipped 23.40 points, or 0.20 per cent, to close at 11,724.75.

Top gainers in early session were Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, ONGC, HDFC, Coal India, Asian Paints, M&M, SBI, NTPC, Kotak Bank and RIL, rising up to 2.46 per cent.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, HUL, Tata Steel, Vedanta, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank were the top losers, shedding up to 2.45 per cent.

According to traders, recovery in auto and banking stocks led to the rise in key indices. Unabated foreign fund inflow and easing crude oil prices too lifted investor mood.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.40 per cent lower at USD 70.47 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equity worth Rs 597.54 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 791.69 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

On the currency front, the rupee was trading up at 69.28 against the US dollar in early trade.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq ended in the red on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading in the red in early deals, while other major bourses in China and Japan were shut for holidays.