Sensex surges over 250 points in early trade; Nifty tops 18,350

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 250 points in opening trade on October 21, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, Kotak Bank and Infosys amid a largely positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share index was trading 265.84 points or 0.43% higher at 61,525.80 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty advanced 93.45 points or 0.51% to 18,360.05.

Sun Pharma was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2%, followed by PowerGrid, NTPC, HDFC, Kotak Bank and M&M.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index ended 456.09 points or 0.74% lower at 61,259.96, and Nifty dropped 152.15 points or 0.83% to 18,266.60.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,843.09 crore on October 20, as per exchange data.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong and Tokyo were in the red.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street largely ended on a positive note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.08% to $85.75 per barrel.