New Delhi, The benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 73 points in early trade, extending gains for the seventh session, driven by sustained foreign fund inflows. Besides, covering-up of short positions ahead of March series expiry in the derivatives segment scheduled for Wednesday as markets will remain closed on Thursday, also supported the rising trend, brokers said.
The 30-share index was trading 73.35 points, or 0.19 per cent, higher to 38,168.42. The gauge had gained over 1,420 points in the previous six sessions. Sectoral indices, led by oil and gas, healthcare, realty, PSU, consumer durables and IT gained up to 0.78 per cent. The NSE Nifty also advanced by 14.40 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 11,476.60.
Major gainers were Sun Pharma, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, HDFC, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Asian Paints, rising up to 3.05 per cent. Bucking the trend, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, M&M, Vedanta and Tata Steel were down up to 2.42 per cent.
