The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday opened higher in Monday's trade, tracking mixed global cues. The two domestic indices oscillated between gains and losses in early trade amid volatility.
At 9.40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 133 points to 61,135. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,968, up 24 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, PowerGrid, HCL Tech, Airtel, HUL, ITC, Infosys were trading in the green. On the flip side, Nestle, Wipro, Bajaj twins, Tata Motors emerged early losers.
Among individual stocks, shares of Samvardhana Motherson gained over 2 per cent after the company plans to buy SAS Autosystem technik for Rs 4,790 crore. Besides, shares of Dilip Buildcon rose over 1 per cent after the company bagged an order worth Rs 1,947 crore.
In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices climbed up to 0.1 per cent.
Volatility index, India VIX, meanwhile, climbed nearly 2 per cent.
Sectorwise, Nifty Auto, Nifty Media, and Nifty PSU Bank indices surged up to 0.2 per cent. On the flipside, Nifty Pharma index declined the most, over 1 per cent.
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 61,003, down 317 points. On the other hand, the Nifty 50 registered a low at 17,885, before settling 92 points lower at 17,944.
In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China were trading in the positive territory. The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Friday.
"Markets may log steady gains in early trade on Monday as investors are likely to take cues from the optimism in SGX Nifty and other select Asian peers even as the key US indices closed mixed on Friday," said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd. However, going by the tumultuous ride of the last few weeks, markets may continue to witness a bumpy ride on the back of concerns over further uptick in interest rates and the likelihood of a slowdown in global growth, Tapse added.
Meanwhile, the rupee gained 16 paise to 82.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels. Forex traders said weak crude oil prices also lent some support to the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.69 against the dollar, then gained ground and touched 82.66, registering a rise of 16 paise over its previous close.
In initial trade, the rupee also touched a low of 82.71 against the American currency. On Friday, the rupee closed at 82.82 against the US currency.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.61 per cent to $83.51 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 624.61 crore, according to exchange data.