The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday edged higher in early morning trade on an upbeat note. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex went up 251 points to 66,850. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was trading at 19,906, up 86 points.


On the 30-share Sensex platform, HCL, SBI, Tata Motors, Maruti, TCS, UltraCemco were among the lead gainers. On the downside, NTPC, Titan, Airtel, and IndusInd Bank emerged losers. Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Jio Financial, Tata Motors and HCL Technologies were among major gainers on the Nifty.


In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8 per cent each.






Sectorally, all the indices were in the green, with the Nifty PSB index leading gains by rising 0.9 per cent, auto and metal pockets held firm gains of 0.6 per cent each.


In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 333 points higher at 66,599, while the NSE Nifty that hit a high of 19,867 closed with a gain of 93 points at 19,820.


Meanwhile, the rupee continued its upward trend for the second straight session and appreciated by 9 paise to 82.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, tracking positive cues from domestic equity markets and a weak American currency against major overseas rivals. However, firm crude oil prices hovering above $90 per barrel and outflow of foreign funds weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said.


At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened 9 paise higher at 82.93 and traded in a narrow range of 82.90 to 82.96 against the greenback. On Friday, the rupee closed at 83.02 against the US dollar.


"The G20 Delhi declaration and India’s diplomatic triumph can trigger continuation of the positive market mood and momentum," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. In the present favourable market mood, Nifty is likely to make another attempt at a record high trying to conquer the psychological mark of 20,000, Vijayakumar said adding that however, investors have to be cautious since fundamentals do not support a sustained rise above 20,000.


In Asian markets, Shanghai quoted with gains while Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong traded lower. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Friday.


Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.18 per cent to $90.49 a barrel.


Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 224.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.