Sensex reclaims 40K mark in early trade, Nifty above 12K

The benchmark BSE Sensex reclaimed the 40,000 mark, rallying nearly 300 points in early trade Friday led by gains in banking and IT stocks amid positive domestic cues and strong foreign fund inflow.

After hitting a high of 40,119.81, the 30-share index was trading 271.12 points, or 0.68 per cent, higher at 40,103.09.

In similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty crossed the 12,000 level, and was trading 81.20 points, or 0.68 per cent, higher at 12,027.10.

In the previous session on Thursday, the 30-share gauge ended 329.92 points, or 0.84 per cent, higher at 39,831.97 -- its fresh-closing high, while the broader NSE Nifty settled at a new closing peak of 11,945.90, gaining 84.80 points or 0.71 per cent.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Asian Paints, Coal India, TCS, ONGC, HCL Tech, L&T, Axis Bank, SBI and IndusInd Bank, rising up to 3 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, NTPC, Vedanta, M&M and RIL were the top losers, shedding up to 0.32 per cent.

"Indian markets seem to be defying gravity as they continue to rally. The positive sentiments are driven by investors conviction in current government's ability to drive strong growth," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

The Indian market has significantly outperformed its emerging market peers in anticipation of positive election outcome and strong foreign flows and further moves are likely to be determined by policy initiatives, budget and RBI monetary policy, he added.

Investors are also awaiting March quarter GDP data, scheduled for release later in the day, traders said.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,664.74 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 1,122.60 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in China, Japan and Korea were trading on a mixed note in their respective early sessions.

Benchmarks on Wall Street too ended in the green on Thursday.

On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.73 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were trading 1.04 per cent lower at 64.65 per barrel.