Sensex up 178 pts in early trade as rupee rebounds

The BSE benchmark Sensex today jumped over 178 points in early trade, led by rally in banks, capital goods and consumer durable stocks, amid sharp recovery in the rupee against the dollar and firming trend in the global market.
The 30-share barometer surged by 178.73 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 18,174.88, aided by increased buying in beaten down bluechip stocks. The index had gained 28.07 points in yesterday's volatile session.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 43.65 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 5,328.65.
Brokers said sentiments turned better after the rupee recovered from its record low after RBI announced fresh measures in a bid to check the rupee's free-fall and a firming trend in the Asian region in line with overnight gains on the US markets.

Besides, covering-up of pending short positions by speculators as today being the last day of current month's settlement in the derivatives segment supported the rise in stock prices, they said.
The banking sector index was trading 1.65 per cent higher at 10,143.65 points as stocks of ICICI Bank were up by 0.73 per cent to Rs 802.50, while HDFC Bank gained 2.31 per cent to Rs 574.70.
Meanwhile, in other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.41 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.33 per cent in the early trade.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.33 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.