Opening bell: Sensex rallies 359 points to over 65,900, Nifty tops 19,500-mark

Benchmark equity indices extended their previous day’s rally in early trade on Friday, driven by optimism in global markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.

Buying in IT counters also helped the equity markets maintain their winning momentum.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 358.91 points to 65,917.80 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 106.65 points to 19,520.40.

From the Sensex pack, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest gainers.

Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green.

The US markets ended in the positive territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth ₹2,237.93 crore after a day’s breather, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.07 per cent to USD 81.42 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark had ended 164.99 points or 0.25 per cent higher at 65,558.89 on Thursday. The barometer had reached its all-time intra-day peak of 66,064.21 on Thursday. The Nifty went up by 29.45 points or 0.15 per cent to 19,413.75.