Sensex rises over 200 points in opening session; Nifty tops 15,800

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Wednesday led by gains in index majors Infosys, Reliance Industries and Maruti amid a positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 200.35 points or 0.38 per cent higher at 52,750.01 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty inched 60.15 points or 0.38 per cent up to 15,808.60.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by Titan, Infosys, Tata Steel, M&M, Asian Paints and Nestle India.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and HUL were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index Sensex ended 185.93 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 52,549.66, and Nifty tumbled 66.25 points or 0.42 per cent to 15,748.45.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 116.63 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.

"Market mood is changing fast. The major positives for the market now are the steadily declining fresh Covid-19 cases (around 37,000 on Tuesday) and fast-rising vaccinations, which will facilitate further easing of restrictions and rebound in economic activity," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The fact that FIIs have ceased selling and the DIIs have turned aggressive buyers is a strong positive. Therefore, it is quite possible that the market may again favour the bulls and the 'buy on dips strategy' may resume, he stated.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong was in the red.

Equities on Wall Street too ended on a positive note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.43 per cent higher at $74.60 per barrel.