Stock markets gather momentum after muted beginning

New Delhi: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty eked out marginal gains in early trade on Monday but later picked up momentum, tracking a firm trend in Asian peers and sustained buying by domestic institutional investors.

The 30-share BSE Sensex went up by 22.24 points to 85,063.69 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 16 points to 26,058.30.

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Later, the BSE benchmark traded 105.17 points higher at 85,140.33, and the Nifty quoted 35 points up at 26,080.45.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent and Maruti were among the biggest gainers.

However, Adani Ports, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded in positive territory, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.

US markets ended on a flat note on Friday. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 317.56 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 1,772.56 crore, according to exchange data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.04 percent to USD 61.27 per barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex dropped 367.25 points or 0.43 percent to settle at 85,041.45. The Nifty declined by 99.80 points or 0.38 percent to 26,042.30.

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