Sensex up 138 points in early trade

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The BSE benchmark Sensex advanced by 138 points in early trade today as realty, banking, capital goods, power, PSU and metal stocks attracted strong buying interest on the back of firm Asian cues amid a surge in foreign capital inflows.

The BSE benchmark Sensex resumed higher at 16,922.31 and shot up further to 17,027.15 before quoting at 17,001.01 at 1015 hours, a net rise of 138.20 points, or 0.82 per cent, from its last close.

The NSE's 50-share Nifty Index also moved up by 40.15 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 5,104.45 at 1015 hours.

In the 30-share Sensex pack, 26 stocks gained, while four declined.

The major gainers in early trade were Jaiprakash Associates (up 5.13 per cent), Tata Power (3.91 per cent), HDFC (2.10 per cent), HDFC Bank (2.01 per cent), SBI (1.91 per cent) and Coal India (1.86 per cent).

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth431.48 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian markets edged higher in early trade today as the yen weakened to its lowest level since 2008. The key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia were up by between 0.93 per cent and 2.56 per cent.