Sensex jumps over 250 pts; metal stocks rally

The BSE benchmark Sensex rallied over 250 points in early trade Wednesday as metal, banking and realty stocks soared amid sustained buying by domestic institutional investors.

Positive cues from other Asian markets too buoyed mood on Dalal Street.

The 30-share index was trading 269.24 points, or 0.76 per cent, at 35,621.85. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 74.40 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 10,678.75.

The Sensex had settled 145.83 points lower at 35,352.61 in the previous session, while the Nifty had fallen 36.60 points to 10,604.35.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack on Wednesday include ONGC, Vedanta, Yes Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, L&T, Tata Steel, HDFC, Reliance and Bharti Airtel, rising up to 2.12 per cent.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and M&M were the losers, falling up to 0.76 per cent.

According to traders, investor sentiment was positive on strong buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).

On a net basis, DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,163.85 crore, while foreign institutional investors sold shares worth a net of Rs 813.76 crore on Tuesday, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Investors also took cues from other Asian equities that were trading positive on hopes of a resolution to US-China trade tiff.

US President Donald Trump Tuesday said that negotiations with China on a trade deal were going very well, but refrained from committing any extension of the March 1 deadline to arrive at such an understanding.

Global markets are also eyeing minutes from the US Federal Reserve, scheduled for release later in the day, for clues on key interest rates, traders said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.50 per cent, Kospi jumped 1.17 per cent, and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.70 per cent; while Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.15 per cent in early trade.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average ended almost flat at 25,891.32 points on Tuesday.

The benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.08 per cent to USD 66.50 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated marginally to 71.31 against the US dollar in early session.