Sensex jumps over 150 points in early trade; Nifty tests 13,500

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 150 points in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in index majors Infosys, TCS and HCL Tech amid a positive trend in other Asian markets.

After swinging nearly 300 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index was trading 141.15 points or 0.31 per cent higher at 46,147.84.

After similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 43.15 points or 0.32 per cent to 13,509.45.

Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, TCS, M&M and Titan.

On the other hand, ONGC, NTPC, Axis Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank and L&T were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 452.73 points or 0.99 per cent higher at 46,006.69, and Nifty climbed 137.90 points or 1.03 per cent to 13,466.30.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,153 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

"Concerns pertaining to the new coronavirus strain and possibility of imminent slowdown in global economy in the near term emerged as a threat for global equities, which may result in investors moving back to defensive stocks in coming days," said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

He noted that India is better placed compared to other nations given consistent reduction in new coronavirus cases and improvement in recovery rates. "While domestic equities are likely to remain volatile and trade in range bound in the near term, 3QFY21 corporate earnings are going to be crucial for the markets," he said.

US equities finished mostly lower as continued surge in coronavirus cases in America and Europe weighed on investor sentiments, which also overshadowed satisfactory progress of vaccination roll out and passage of USD 900 billion stimulus bill, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 1.42 per cent lower at USD 49.37 per barrel.