Sensex, Nifty open in green, ICICI Bank among top loser

Sensex and Nifty opened in green on Monday taking cues from Asian shares. Benchmark indices extended early gains, with the Sensex rising 124.15 points to 33,751.12 and the Nifty gaining 44.90 points at 10,376.50. Among the top gainers were Kotak Mahindra Bank with 1.22 per cent gains while Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were the top losers.

The rupee strengthened by 12 paise to 64.85 against the US dollar in early trade today on fresh selling of the greenback by banks and exporters.

Besides, a higher opening of the domestic equity market and weakness in the dollar against other global currencies, following data that showed the US economy created the least number of jobs in six months in March, supported the rupee, forex dealers said.

The domestic unit had ended flat at 64.97 against the US dollar in a quiet range-bound trade on Friday as local equities consolidated their recovery momentum.

Continuing its upward march for the third straight session, the 30-share index rose 136.45 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 33,763.42. The gauge had gained 607.90 points in the previous two sessions.

The NSE Nifty too was up 47.65 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 10,379.25.

Sectoral indices, led by consumer durables, metal, realty and capital goods stocks, were trading in the positive zone with gains of up to 1.40 per cent.

Brokers said that a firm trend at other Asian markets on easing concerns about a sharp rise in US interest rates and buying by investors ahead of earnings season, scheduled to begin this week, helped lift market sentiment.

Major gainers were Kotak Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Asian Paint, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki and Dr Reddy's, gaining by up to 1.29 per cent.

Top losers were ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Infosys, falling up to 2 per cent.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.06 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.97 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index too edged higher by 0.15 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 2.34 per cent down in Friday's trade after Donald Trump warned of tariffs on an additional USD 100 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)