Markets climb in early trade on firm global equities

Equity benchmarks began the trade on a positive note on January 16 amid a firm global market trend and buying in IT counters.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 325.59 points to 60,586.77 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 93.05 points to 18,049.65.

From the Sensex pack, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India were among the major winners.

Wipro climbed 1% in early trade after announcing its December quarter earnings post trading hours on Friday.

Wipro on Friday reported a better-than-expected 2.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for December 2022 quarter to ₹3,053 crore and exuded optimism about “strong” bookings for the fourth quarter despite global headwinds.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, NTPC, Maruti and Tata Motors were among the laggards from the Sensex constituents.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green, while Tokyo quoted lower.

Markets in the U.S. had ended in the positive territory on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.54% to $84.82 per barrel.

The Sensex had gained 303.15 points or 0.51% to settle at 60,261.18 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 98.40 points or 0.55% to end at 17,956.60.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth ₹2,422.39 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.