Markets open in positive note with Sensex at 61,880; Nifty opens at 18,389

Benchmark indices rallied in early trade on Monday amid positive cues from global markets and unabated foreign fund inflows, but later faced volatile trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 92.98 points to 61,888.02 in early deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 44.4 points to 18,394.10.

However, later, both the benchmark indices turned volatile and were trading on a mixed note. The BSE benchmark quoted 35.7 points lower at 61,759.34, while the Nifty was trading 12.30 points higher at 18,362.

From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the major winners in early trade.

Dr Reddy’s, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and ITC were among the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading higher, while Tokyo quoted lower.

Wall Street had ended higher on Friday.

“The momentum in the market is evident in the 4 straight weeks of gains and FIIs turning buyers in all the last 11 trading days,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark had zoomed 1,181.34 points or 1.95 per cent to settle at 61,795.04 on Friday. The Nifty rallied 321.50 points or 1.78 per cent to finish at 18,349.70.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.43 per cent higher at USD 96.40 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Friday as they bought shares worth ₹3,958.23 crore, as per exchange data.