Markets trade firm on buying in Reliance, TCS

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices rebounded in early trade on Friday amid buying in Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank along with largely firm Asian markets.

After a flat beginning, the 30-share BSE Sensex further climbed 122.61 points to 71,551.04 in early trade. The Nifty went up by 45.45 points to 21,763.40.

Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, Wipro, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra were the major gainers.

Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai were quoting in the positive territory while Hong Kong traded lower.

The US markets ended in the green on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,933.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark fell by 723.57 points or 1 per cent to settle at 71,428.43 on Thursday amid uncertainty about the timing of interest rate reduction after the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision. The Nifty declined by 212.55 points or 0.97 per cent to 21,717.95.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.09 per cent to USD 81.70 a barrel.