Mumbai: Extending its climb for the fourth consecutive session, the benchmark Sensex advanced over 74 points in early trade today amid a firming trend at Asian bourses. The 30-share barometer rose 74.32 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 23,783.47. The gauge had gained 517.18 points in the previous three sessions.
Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, L&T, M&M, Lupin, RIL, SBI, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Lab, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, and TCS were the major gainers that rallied the index. Also, the NSE Nifty was trading higher by 16.05 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 7,226.80.
Brokers said retail investors lapping up shares, taking positive cues from other Asian bourses and cheered by rising oil prices, influenced sentiment here. In rest of Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.99 per cent while Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.58 per cent in early trade today.
Shanghai Composite gained 2.23 per cent on reports that the head of the securities regulator has been asked to go following China's market woes. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.13 per cent lower in Friday's trade.
