<p>Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began Friday's trading session on an optimistic note as steady buying by domestic institutional investors and a rally in blue-chip Reliance Industries drove the stock markets higher in early trade.</p><p>The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 55.8 points to 26,202.35.</p><p>From the 30-Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Maruti, Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were among the biggest gainers.</p><p>ITC, Titan Company, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.</p>.Carmakers post strong December sales on GST reform boost.<p>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 1,525.89 crore, according to exchange data.</p><p>"Steady domestic institutional inflows continue to provide broader support, helping offset aggressive selling by foreign investors," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.</p><p>In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher.</p><p>US markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year's Day holiday.</p><p>Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.46 per cent to USD 61.13 per barrel.</p><p>On Thursday, the Sensex dipped 32 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 85,188.60. The Nifty went up marginally by 16.95 points or 0.06 per cent to end at 26,146.55.</p>
<p>Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began Friday's trading session on an optimistic note as steady buying by domestic institutional investors and a rally in blue-chip Reliance Industries drove the stock markets higher in early trade.</p><p>The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 55.8 points to 26,202.35.</p><p>From the 30-Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Maruti, Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were among the biggest gainers.</p><p>ITC, Titan Company, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.</p>.Carmakers post strong December sales on GST reform boost.<p>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 1,525.89 crore, according to exchange data.</p><p>"Steady domestic institutional inflows continue to provide broader support, helping offset aggressive selling by foreign investors," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.</p><p>In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher.</p><p>US markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year's Day holiday.</p><p>Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.46 per cent to USD 61.13 per barrel.</p><p>On Thursday, the Sensex dipped 32 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 85,188.60. The Nifty went up marginally by 16.95 points or 0.06 per cent to end at 26,146.55.</p>