Markets climb in early trade on firm Asian markets, buying in Auto, metal stocks

New Delhi: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed higher in opening trade on Monday, tracking a firm trend in the Asian markets and buying in auto and metal stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 217.61 points or 0.27 percent to 80,817.52 in opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 71.55 points to 24,636.90.

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From the 30-share Sensex firms, Tata Steel, BEL, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Titan and Adani Ports were among the gainers.

Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Eternal, Power Grid, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai's SSE Composite index are trading higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index is trading in the negative territory.

The US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.23 percent to USD 69.51 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,366.40 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 585.67 points to settle at 80,599.91, and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 203 points to close at 24,565.35.

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