Sensex extends gains, up 208 points in early trade

TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai/Extending its post-RBI policy rally, the BSE Sensex spurted 208 points in opening trade today on widespread buying, with banking, metal and realty sectors leading the gains. The benchmark had rallied 276 points yesterday after the RBI hiked the policy rate after a four-year pause on inflation concerns but maintained its neutral stance.

The central bank also retained its GDP growth forecast for 2018-19 at 7.4 per cent on hopes of higher investments and consumption. The 30-share index was trading higher by 207.83 points, or 0.59 per cent at 35,386.71.

All the sectoral indices were trading in the green. Realty, infrastructure, bankex, IT, capital goods, auto, FMCG, healthcare and oil & gas advanced up to 1.16 per cent. Also, the NSE Nifty jumped 72.95 points or 0.68 per cent to 10,757.60.

Major gainers were ICICI Bank, Infosys, ONGC, M&M, Yes Bank, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, RIL, Asian Paints, L&T, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors and HDFC Ltd, gaining up to 1.66 per cent.