Sensex rallies over 300 points in early trade; Nifty tops 11,800

New Delhi: Markets opened in the green on Monday with Sensex soaring over 300 points in opening amid positive cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 322.40 points or 0.81 per cent higher at 40,305.38, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 85.80 points or 0.73 per cent to 11,848.25.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Nestle India. On the other hand, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex closed 254.57 points or 0.64 per cent higher at 39,982.98, while Nifty settled 82.10 points or 0.70 per cent up at 11,762.45. Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 479.59 crore on a net basis on Friday.

Asian markets advanced toward a recent 2-1/2-year peak on Monday powered by hopes of a US fiscal package and expectations of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year, a Reuters report said. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.6%. Japan`s Nikkei  and Australia`s benchmark index <.AXJO> were each up 1.1%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 jumped 0.6% in Asian trading.

In commodities, Brent crude futures slipped 14 cents to $42.79 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 14 cents to $40.74 a barrel.
Spot gold was a shade firmer at $1,900.8 an ounce, Reuters added.