Sensex gains over 300 points in early trade, Nifty above 18,200-mark

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened higher on Monday taking cues from their Asian peers and a fall in global crude oil prices.

At 9:21 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 309.31 points (0.51 per cent) at 61,259.67 while the Nifty 50 was trading at 18,219.35, up 102.20 points (0.56 per cent).

On the Sensex pack, gains in the early deals were led by SBI, Axis bank, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki and Nestle India. In contrast, Titan, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma and Asia Paints were the top laggards.

Global Markets (from AP)

Asian stocks advanced Monday as investors weighed uncertainties such as the US mid-term elections and China’s possible moves to ease coronavirus restrictions. Oil prices fell.

China reported its trade shrank in October as global demand weakened and anti-virus controls weighed on domestic consumer spending. Speculation about a possible relaxation of China’s zero-COVID strategy has had a huge impact on markets.

On Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 3.6 per cent to 16,735.26 and Shanghai climbed 0.5 per cent to 3,084.87.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3 per cent to 27,554.29 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.4 per cent to 6,916.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7 per cent to 2,364.04.