Sensex surges 174.98 points; Nifty up 53 points in early trade as oil prices ease

Representational Image. File pic.

The domestic equity benchmark indices were trading in the positive territory in the initial deals on Friday tracking global cues amid easing crude oil prices despite global uncertainties.

Market movement

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 174.98 points or 0.24 per cent to 74,489.57 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 53 points or 0.23 per cent to 23,323.60.

"Technically, the market is currently witnessing range-bound activity, and intraday patterns suggest that a pullback formation is likely to continue soon," Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Ports, Ultratech Cement, HDFC Bank were the major winners, while Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Infosys and HCL Tech were among the laggards.

"The focus of investors now is the IPO market and the listing gains from IPOs. Consequently the secondary market is languishing with prices of large-caps getting depressed. For long-term investors, this is an opportunity. Leading banks, capital goods majors, select automobiles and pharmaceutical stocks provide buying opportunities," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said.

On Thursday, the benchmark indices ended on a mixed note as the Sensex slipped 21.86 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,314.59, while the Nifty gained 53 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 23,270.60.

Global cues

"Global cues have turned more supportive, with Wall Street rebounding sharply from the previous session's Fed-driven selloff. The S&P 500 gained 1.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq surged 1.7 per cent, led by chipmakers, as easing bond yields and a retreat in crude prices provided some relief," Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research, Axis Direct, said.

"However, the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance and the possibility of further tightening continue to keep global sentiment cautious," he added.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.93 per cent lower at USD 103.8 per barrel, according to news agency PTI. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,208.76 crore on Thursday. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to provide support purchasing equities worth Rs 3,617 crore.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were quoting higher.

(With inputs from PTI)