Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex rose almost 174 points in early trade today on sustained buying by foreign funds and retail investors after Reliance Industries reported encouraging earnings. Besides, progress of monsoon and a firming trend at other Asian markets also influenced the trading sentiments here. The 30-share index, which had surged over 634 points in the previous four sessions, advanced 173.83 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 25,815.39, with all sectoral indices, led by oil & gas and consumer durables, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.27 per cent.
Similarly, the broader National Stock Exchange Nifty regained the 7,700-mark by rising 42.80 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 7,706.70. Buying activity gathered momentum after Reliance Industries, operator of the world's largest single location refinery complex, reported a 13.7 per cent rise in April-June quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 5,957 crore, brokers said.
Shares of Reliance Industries climbed 2.27 per cent to Rs 998.85 in opening trade. Further, a firming trend in the Asian region influenced buying, they said. Stocks of HDFC Bank were up 0.79 per cent to Rs 839 and HDFC Ltd rose 1.12 per cent to Rs 992 ahead of their first quarterly earnings to be announced today.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.13 per cent in early trade today, while Japan's markets are closed for a public holiday. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.73 per cent higher in Friday's trade on the back of corporate earnings.
