Stock markets rebound in early trade after two days of slump   

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Friday after two days of sharp decline amid value-buying at lower levels.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 197.11 points to 80,277.68 in initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 63.45 points to 24,564.35.

From the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Asian Paints, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the major gainers.

However, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Eternal and Infosys were among the laggards.

On Thursday, the Sensex tanked 705.97 points or 0.87 per cent to settle at 80,080.57. The Nifty dived 211.15 points or 0.85 per cent to 24,500.90.

In the past two trading days, the BSE benchmark has plummeted 1,555.34 points or 1.90 per cent.

Meanwhile, India is hopeful of resuming negotiations with the US on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), and resolving the issue relating to the steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods imposed by Washington will be key to striking the deal, a government official said on Thursday.

However, the official said the new dates for the next round of negotiations for the agreement have not yet been finalised.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded in positive territory.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.66 per cent to USD 68.17 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,856.51 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,920.34 crore, according to exchange data.