Sensex jumps over 200 pts in early trade; Nifty tests 11,450

Mumbai, Aug.19 (PTI): Domestic equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Wednesday tracking positive cues from global markets and persistent foreign fund inflows.

The BSE Sensex was trading 217.77 points or 0.57 per cent higher at 38,746.09; while NSE Nifty was up 63.60 points or 0.56 per cent at 11,448.95.

SBI was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by L&T, M&M, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, ITC and Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank and Infosys were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the Sensex had settled at 38,528.32, up 477.54 points or 1.26 per cent, while the broader Nifty surged 138.25 points or 1.23 per cent to end at 11,385.35.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,134.57 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.

According to traders, domestic bourses followed positive cues from US equities which hit fresh records in overnight session, they said.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended with gains in overnight session as US government stimulus packages to aid the economy began showing signs of growth.

Bourses in Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note, while Shanghai was in the red.

Investors are also awaiting cues from the minutes of US Federal Reserve’s meeting, scheduled to be released later in the day. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.66 per cent lower at USD 45.16 per barrel.