Sensex jumps nearly 300 pts in early trade; Nifty tops 14,100

Sensex jumped nearly 300 points in opening trade on January 4, tracking gains in index majors ITC, Infosys and ICICI Bank as investors cheered domestic COVID-19 vaccine approvals.

The 30-share BSE index touched its lifetime intra-day high of 48,168.22 in early trade. It was trading 272.73 points or 0.57 per cent higher at 48,141.71, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 90.90 points or 0.65 per cent to a record high of 14,109.40.

TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by ONGC, SBI, L&T, Infosys, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

HDFC, Asian Paints and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex rose by 117.65 points or 0.25 per cent to close at a fresh lifetime-high of 47,868.98, while Nifty closed at an all-time high of 14,018.50.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 506.21 crore on a net basis on January 1, according to provisional exchange data.

Strong economic key data in terms of GST collections, power demand and railway freight for December 2020 will continue to offer strength to the market, experts say. Additionally, final approval for two COVID-19 vaccines and likely commencement of the inoculation process soon are positive for the markets and economy.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Tokyo was in the red.

Brent crude futures, were trading 0.98 per cent higher at $52.31 a barrel.