Sensex surges 53 points in early trade

Extending gains for the second straight day, the benchmark BSE Sensex today rose further 53 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds amid a firm trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index moved up 53.53 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 21,343.02 points with capital goods, metal, PSUs and banking stocks leading the rise. The index had gained 256.61 points yesterday.

The wide-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange moved up 17.20 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 6,338.10.

Brokers said sustained buying by funds and retail investors driven by easing inflation concerns mainly buoyed the trading sentiment here.

Besides, expectations of encouraging quarterly earnings by companies including Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies also supported the rising trend, they said.In the Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.80 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei went up 0.45 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.66 per cent to close at fresh record high yesterday.