Sensex Rallies Over 300 Points; SBI, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank Top Gainers

Asian shares edged cautiously higher catching the tailwind from a bounce on Wall Street and ahead of what are expected to be upbeat readings on the Chinese economy

The domestic stock markets have opened strong in line with the positive cues from the global front. Wall Street had closed higher over the weekend and Asian markets are looking up in early trading. At 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 49,026.33, higher by 303 points or 0.59 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,752.30, up 73.05 points or 0.51 per cent, led by gains in financial stocks. The broader markets are also trading firm, with the BSE Midcap index adding 0.2 per cent and BSE Smallcap index gaining 0.6 per cent. Asian shares edged cautiously higher on Monday catching the tailwind from a bounce on Wall Street and ahead of what are expected to be upbeat readings on the Chinese economy, though any disappointment could quickly chill the mood. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.2 per cent, nudging further away from a four-month trough hit last week. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent, having also touched its lowest since early January last week.