Sensex, Nifty gain in early trade; Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank gain

Mumbai: Domestic equity market started on a positive note on Tuesday, with Sensex rising 109 points and Nifty trading with moderate gains amid positive cues from other Asian markets.

Investors in Asia seemed to be more positive even as the US market declined on Monday after strong data on jobs last week renewed worries about Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory going forward.

In early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained momentum and jumped 108.97 points to 60,615.87 while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 36.65 points to 17,801.25.

Most of the Sensex stocks, including Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and TCS were trading with gains.

Markets in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and China were trading in the green.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Asian stocks made small advances as investors await commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later Tuesday amid bets the central bank will keep a firm grip on monetary policy.

On Monday, the Sensex dropped 334.98 points or 0.55 per cent to close at 60,506.90 while the Nifty fell 89.45 points or 0.50 per cent to end the day at 17,764.60.

The US as well as the European markets closed in the negative territory on Monday.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers on Monday, offloading shares worth Rs 1,218.14 crore, according to data available with the BSE.

The international Brent crude futures rose 0.79 per cent to USD 81.78 per barrel.