Markets trade firm in early trade

MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks climbed in early trade on Monday after four days of losses amid positive trend in global markets. Bouncing back from four days of losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 257.95 points to 60,103.24 in initial trade. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 77 points to 17,883.80.

Later in the trade, the BSE benchmark quoted 434.63 points higher at 60,279.92, while the Nifty traded 145.90 points up at 17,952.70. From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC and Power Grid were the major winners. Bharti Airtel remained the only laggard.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading in the green. The US markets had ended in the positive territory on Friday. The BSE benchmark had slumped 980.93 points or 1.61 per cent to settle at 59,845.29 on Friday.

The Nifty dropped 320.55 points or 1.77 per cent to end at 17,806.80. International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 3.63 per cent to USD 83.92 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 706.84 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.