Sensex opens higher in early trade

Snapping a three-day losing streak, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recovered by over 93 points in opening trade on Thursday on the back of a fresh spell of buying by funds as well as retail investors amid a firming trend on other Asian bourses.

However, participants kept their commitments restricted, on Thursday being the last session of monthly expiry in the derivatives segment on the NSE.

The 30-share barometer, which has lost nearly 153 points in the previous three sessions, rose by 93.36 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 19,542.05.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 22.50 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,856.40.

Brokers said the emergence of buying by funds and investors, taking positive cues from other Asian markets in line with overnight gains in the US market following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold short-term interest rates near zero, boosted the sentiment here.

Meanwhile, in the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.54 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei by 1.13 per cent in morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.76 per cent higher in the previous session.