Sensex moves up 211 points as Jan F&O series takes off

Mumbai: Stock market got off to a positive start in the final trading session of 2016, with the benchmark Sensex surging 211 points to 26,577 on widespread gains amid further strength in the rupee.

In addition, the beginning of January series in the futures and options (F&O) space accelerated buying by participants, which supported the upside. The rupee was quoting higher by 16 paise against the dollar at 67.94 in early trade.

The 30-share index rose 210.62 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 26,576.77, with all the sectoral indices led by FMCG, power, banking and capital goods leading the rally. The barometer had closed at an almost two-week high by gaining 155.47 points in the previous session as December derivatives contracts expired amid recovery in the rupee.

The broad-based NSE Nifty too was up 59.85 points, or 0.74 per cent, at 8,163.45. ICICI Bank, GAIL, Asian Paints, ITC, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, HUL, HDFC Ltd, Cipla, SBI and ONGC were among prominent gainers, which supported the indices.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.84 per cent while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.40 per cent in early trade. Shanghai traded up 0.11 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.07 per cent down yesterday.