Equity markets climb in early trade after 8 days of fall

Mumbai, March 1

Stock markets advanced in early trade on Wednesday amid gains in Asian equity exchanges and buying in IT counters.

The BSE Sensex advanced 278.77 points to 59,240.89 after a positive beginning. The NSE Nifty climbed 83.4 points to 17,387.35.

From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers.

Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever were the laggards from the pack.

In Asian markets, Japan, China and Hong Kong were trading in the positive territory.

The US markets had ended lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Portfolio Investors offloaded shares worth Rs 4,559.21 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.75 per cent to USD 83.89 per barrel.