Sensex climbs 227 pts in early trade, Nifty tops 7,400

The benchmark Sensex advanced over 227 points and the NSE Nifty retook the 7,400-mark today as the post-Budget rally continued following creation of fresh bets coupled with a fresh spell of foreign fund inflows.
Besides, a firming trend in Asia accelerated buying.
The 30-share barometer rose 227.59 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 24,470.57. The gauge had gained 1,241 points in the previous two sessions after the presentation of the Budget 2016-17.
Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Lab, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, M&M, Infosys and Wipro contributed to the upsurge.
Also, the NSE Nifty reclaimed the crucial 7,400-mark by climbing 76.60 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 7,445.45.

Traders said retail investors got down to beefing up their portfolios amid renewed hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank and other Asian markets offered positive cues on talk that China will unveil new economy-boosting measures, which helped improve sentiment.
In the rest of Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.12 per cent while Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.89 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite gained 0.12 per cent.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.20 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.