Sensex climbs nearly 160 points in early trade

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark index Sensex climbed nearly 160 points in early trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors RIL, ICICI Bank and ITC amid a mixed trend in global markets.

The BSE benchmark was trading with a gain of 159.56 points at 53,067.49 in early trade. The NSE Nifty also went higher by 45.4 points to 15,797.45.

However, the indices failed to hold on to the gains and turned volatile in the morning trade.

Among the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever and Maruti were among the gainers in early trade.

Tata Steel, TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HDFC were among the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo and Shanghai were trading in the green, while Seoul and Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets ended with gains on Friday.

"Investors should exercise caution because global trends, crude oil movement, and FII activities may have an impact on market volatility," Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.13 per cent to USD 111 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,324.74 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.