Sensex rises over 50 pts in early trade; Nifty tests 11,500

Mumbai, Sep. 2 (PTI): Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a muted note on Wednesday amid concerns over India-China border tensions and weak cues from Asian peers.

After opening on a choppy note, the BSE Sensex was trading 58.69 points or 0.15 per cent higher at 38,959.49; while the NSE Nifty was up 22.95 points or 0.20 per cent at 11,493.20.

UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by ONGC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, ITC, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

On the other hand, SBI, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Kotak Bank and Titan were the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 272.51 points or 0.71 per cent higher at 38,900.80, while Nifty advanced 82.75 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 11,470.25.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth INR 486.09 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.

According to traders, domestic equities turned choppy as concerns of India-China border tensions weighed on investor sentiment.

India on Tuesday said China’s fresh attempt to change the status quo in the south bank area of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh is in “complete disregard” to the understandings reached between the two countries.

Further, weak cues from other Asian markets also kept investors cautious, traders said.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were in the red in mid-day deals, while Tokyo was trading with gains.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a positive note in overnight session. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.75 per cent higher at USD 45.92 per barrel.