Sensex soars 326 points, Nifty reclaims 7,800-mark in early trade

Mumbai: Market benchmark BSE Sensex recouped about 326 points and the broader NSE Nifty touched the 7,800-mark in early trade today on the back of buying by foreign funds and retail investors amid mixed Asian markets.

The 30-share barometer rose by 325.91 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 25,554.41. The gauge had lost 33.71 points in the previous session. All the sectoral indices led by banking, FMCG, power, metal and auto were trading in the positive zone, rising by up to 1.67 per cent.

The Nifty regained the crucial 7,800-mark by advancing 95.75 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 7,829.20. Brokers said fresh buying by participants amid a mixed trend at other Asian bourses, tracking Friday's rally on the US markets as a soft jobs report gave investors hope the Federal Reserve would keep any future interest rate hike small and slow, mainly influenced sentiment.

Prominent gainers were NTPC, HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, M&M, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Bajaj Auto. Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.54 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.31 per cent in early trade today.

Shanghai Composite Index, however, sank 1.87 per cent on another weak Chinese trade report. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.45 per cent higher in Friday's trade.