Markets trade higher in early trade

Mumbai, Dec 21 (PTI) Equity benchmarks rebounded in early trade on Wednesday amid buying in IT counters and mixed trends in global markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 304.17 points to 62,006.46. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 88.05 points to 18,473.35.

From the Sensex pack, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank and UltraTech Cement were the major winners.

Power Grid and ITC were the laggards.

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

The US markets had ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.

The BSE benchmark ended lower by 103.90 points or 0.17 per cent at 61,702.29 on Tuesday. The Nifty dipped 35.15 points or 0.19 per cent to end at 18,385.30.

International oil benchmark Brent crude inched up 0.18 per cent to USD 80.13 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 455.94 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.