Sensex up 77 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex rose nearly 77 points in early trade today with stocks of realty, consumer durables, auto, capital goods and banking sectors leading the recovery on emergence of buying by funds and retailers ahead of tomorrow's second quarter monetary policy review by RBI.
Snapping its four-session losing streak, the 30-share index gained 76.98 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 20,760.50. The index had lost nearly 211 points in the previous four sessions.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 18.20 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 6,163.10.
Brokers said fresh positions created by funds and retailers ahead of the RBI's second quarter review of monetary policy tomorrow and a firming trend in the Asian region helped trading sentiments to improve.

Besides, encouraging earnings by some companies too had a positive impact, they said.
Meanwhile in other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.42 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was up 1.08 per cent in the early trade.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.39 per cent higher in Friday's trade.