Sensex recoups 158 points; Nifty tops 9,200-mark

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex recovered by over 157 points and the Nifty scaled a record high in early trade on widespread buying by investors and funds, triggered by a firm trend in Asian markets.

On the first trading day of the new quarter, the 30-share index rose 157.97 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 29,778.47, with sectoral indices auto, bank, oil & gas, consumer durables and capital goods advancing by up to 0.71 per cent.

Major gainers that supported the upmove were Reliance (4.23 per cent), Gail (1.63 per cent), L&T (1.10 per cent), Tata Motors (0.70 per cent and M&M (0.57 per cent). Meanwhile, Infosys slipped by 0.53 per cent on fresh differences between the founders and Board of the company.

The gauge had lost 26.92 points in the previous session. The NSE Nifty regained the 9,200-mark by rising 46.90 points, or 0.51 per cent, to trade at record high of 9,220.65.

Brokers said fresh buying by investors and funds amid a firming trend in Asian markets as traders look ahead for the US job data release and a meeting between the American and Chinese presidents later in the week.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.44 per cent and Japan's Nikkei was up 0.36 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite remained closed today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.31 per cent lower in Friday's trade.