Stock markets climb in early trade; Sensex at 60,389.29 points

Mumbai: Market benchmark indices advanced in early trade on Thursday, climbing for the fourth straight day amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in index major Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 88.71 points to 60,389.29 points. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 19.40 points to 17,833 points.

From the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major winners.

Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai were trading in the green while Japan and Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets had ended mostly lower on Wednesday.

"With the current month's F&O set to expire today, caution may prevail. Recession fears are again seen resurfacing in the US amid renewed concerns about a wider impact from the recent banking crisis.

"Also, chances of more rate hikes by the US Fed and key European nations are likely to keep upside capped going ahead. However, positive catalysts like crude oil prices below USD 80 a barrel and FIIs turning net buyers of local shares could limit the downside in the near term," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The BSE benchmark climbed 169.87 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 60,300.58 points on Wednesday.

The Nifty advanced 44.35 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 17,813.60 points.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.48 per cent to USD 78.06 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Wednesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,257.48 crore, according to exchange data.