Sensex gains over 500 pts in early trade; Nifty above 17,650

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex climbed over 500 points in early trade on Friday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights Titan, Wipro and Infosys amid a firm trend in global markets.

Foreign fund inflows into capital markets also added to the momentum, traders said.

The BSE Sensex climbed 520.85 points to 59,295.57 in early trade. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 163.4 points to 17,685.85.

From the Sensex pack, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Wipro, Infosys and Axis Bank were among the major winners.

On the other, Bharti Airtel and Nestle were the laggards.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green in mid-session deals.

Wall Street had ended with gains on Thursday.

"Intra-day markets could remain volatile as investors are likely to maintain caution ahead of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium," said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark declined 310.71 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 58,774.72 on Thursday. The Nifty dropped 82.50 points or 0.47 per cent to end at 17,522.45.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.78 per cent to USD 100.11 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 369.06 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.