Sensex rallies over 300 pts in opening session; Nifty tops 10,300

Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 300 points in early trade on Friday tracking gains in index-heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid positive cues from global markets. The 30-share index was trading 355.04 points, or 1.02 per cent, higher at 35,197.14, while the NSE Nifty jumped 100.55 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 10,389.45.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 4 per cent, followed by Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, HUL and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed 26.88 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 34,842.10, and the broader Nifty slipped 16.40 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 10,288.90.

Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers on Thursday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,050.61 crore, provisional exchange data showed.

According to traders, broad-based buying on the first day of the new monthly derivatives series and positive cues from global equity markets lifted benchmarks in opening session. Bourses in Japan and Seoul were trading with significant gains, while those Hong Kong were in the red. Markets in Shanghai were closed for a public holiday.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street jumped over 1 per cent in overnight session. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.27 per cent to USD 41.57 per barrel.