Rising for the ninth straight session, market benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 119 points in early trade Friday led by gains

Mumbai, Mar 22: Rising for the ninth straight session, market benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 119 points in early trade Friday led by gains in banking, metal and auto stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflow. Gains were, however, capped tracking Asian markets as investors turned cautious after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, experts said. The 30-share index was trading 119.52 points, or 0.31 per cent, higher to 38,506.27.

The index began the session on a firm note at 38,452.47 and hit the session's high of 38,526.71 on steady buying by foreign funds as well as retail investors. The NSE Nifty also advanced by 36.35 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 11,557.40. Major gainers were Bharti Airtel, L&T, Yes Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, Asian Paint, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Axis Bank and State Bank of India, rising up to 3.03 per cent.

NSE Nifty also advanced by 36.35 points

Among the losers in the Sensex pack, ITC, Reliance Industries, Maruti, M&M, TCS and ONGC down up to 1.75 per cent. Brokers said sustained foreign fund inflows and continued buying by retail investors influenced the market here. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 1,771.61 crore on a net basis Wednesday, as per provisional data. Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 6 paise to 68.57 against the US dollar in opening trade. 

However, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.18 per cent to USD 67.74 per barrel. Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was trading lower by 0.25 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.54 per cent and Shanghai Composite index was down 0.77 per cent in their early deals. On Wall Street, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.84 per cent higher in Thursday's session.