Sensex rallies 580 over pts in early trade; Nifty tops 17,650

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 580 points in early trade on Thursday, buoyed by intense buying in IT, financial and banking stocks amid a firm trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 581.26 points or 0.99 per cent higher at 59,398.55 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 159.80 points or 0.91 per cent to 17,694.55.

All the Sensex constituents were trading with gains in morning trade.

Tech Mahindra was the top gainer in the pack, rising more than 3 per cent, followed by Wipro, Infosys, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance.

In the previous session, while the 30-share BSE index ended 35.78 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 58,817.29 in a volatile session, the broader NSE Nifty inched up 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 17,534.75.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the Indian capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,061.88 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.23 per cent lower at USD 97.18 per barrel.

According to traders, the surge in the domestic equity markets was supported by a firm trend in global equities especially the US gauges and subsequent rally in Asian indices.

Equities on Wall Street rose sharply on Wednesday after US data showed that inflation eased more than expected in July, indicating that the Fed might be less aggressive in hiking interest rates.

The US consumer price index showed a growth of 8.5 per cent in July, compared to the year-ago period.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Tokyo was in the red.