New Delhi, August 25 (HS): Domestic equities started the week on a strong footing, with both benchmark indices trading higher in early Monday deals. A steady wave of buying interest lifted the Sensex and Nifty soon after the opening bell, although intermittent profit booking capped sharp gains. By 10 AM, the Sensex was up 0.20 percent, while the Nifty advanced 0.24 percent.
Heavyweights including TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Hindalco Industries emerged as the top gainers, rising between 1.54 percent and 2.35 percent. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, Apollo Hospitals and SBI Life Insurance slipped 0.23 percent to 0.72 percent.
Market breadth leaned positive, with 1,534 stocks trading in the green against 913 in the red out of the 2,447 actively traded scrips on the BSE. Within Sensex constituents, 20 stocks were in gains while 10 were in losses; on the Nifty, 33 stocks advanced while 17 declined.
The BSE Sensex opened 194.21 points higher at 81,501.06, quickly climbing to 81,639.11 in the first half hour, before mild selling pared some gains. Still, it was holding firm at 81,471.36 — up 164.51 points by 10 AM. Similarly, the NSE Nifty began 79.05 points stronger at 24,949.15, touched an intraday high of 24,973.95, and was last ruling 59.80 points up at 24,929.90.
This comes after a weak close on Friday, when persistent selling dragged the Sensex down 693.86 points (0.85%) to 81,306.85 and the Nifty by 213.65 points (0.85%) to 24,870.10.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
