Stock markets rally in early trade tracking drop in oil prices, positive trends in Asian equities

New Delhi: Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Thursday, tracking a decline in crude oil prices and a positive trend in Asian equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 440.23 points to 77,435.76 in early deals. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 137.80 points to 24,147.60.

Follow The PSUWatch Channel on WhatsApp

From the 30-Sensex firms, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever were among the major winners.

Power Grid, Titan, Infosys and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.70 percent lower at USD 72.49 per barrel.

"The biggest positive for India is Brent crude falling to below USD 73 level," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi jumped over 5 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 index traded nearly 4 percent higher and Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted marginally in the green. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower.

US markets ended on a subdued note in the previous trade.

"Crude oil prices have extended their recent decline. Oil has now erased most of the gains recorded during the recent Middle East conflict as concerns over supply disruptions have eased, geopolitical risk premiums have unwound and global supply conditions have continued to improve," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

Follow PSU Watch on LinkedIN

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,843.40 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 790.54 points, or 1.04 percent, to settle at 76,991.22. The Nifty climbed 197.55 points, or 0.83 percent, to end at 24,021.65.

(PSU Watch is India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy. 👉 Click to join our channel now: PSUWatch WhatsApp Channel. Prefer LinkedIn? Follow PSU Watch on LinkedIN. Click to stay connected on Twitter here and stay updated)