Sensex Gains Over 200 Points; SBI Top Gainer Post March Quarter Results

Asian shares got off to a cautious start on Monday as investors anxiously awaited a key read on U.S. inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy

The domestic stock markets have opened in the green, building on the nearly 2 per cent rally witnessed on Friday as the nationwide decline in Covid cases has raised hopes of gradual unlocking by the state governments. At 9:19 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 50,764.25, higher by 220.87 points or 0.42 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 15,223.50, up 49.50 points or 0.33 per cent. SBI is in focus on the back of stellar March quarter numbers reported on Friday. The broader markets are also trading firm, with the BSE Midcap index gaining 0.5 per cent and the BSE Smallcap index adding 0.8 per cent in early trading. Asian shares got off to a cautious start on Monday as investors anxiously awaited a key read on U.S. inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy, while Bitcoin took a hammering after China cracked down on mining and trading of the cryptocurrency. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed in slow trade. Japan's Nikkei added 0.1 per cent and South Korea was flat.