Stock markets rally in early trade; Sensex jumps over 400 points
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trade on Friday, extending their previous session's rally, in-tandem with a positive global trends amid a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 402.99 points to 85,221.12 during early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 115.3 points to 26,013.85.
From the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and Bharat Electronics were among the major gainers.
However, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Infosys, HCL Tech and Hindustan Unilever were the laggards.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded in positive territory while Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted lower.
US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.64 per cent to USD 61.69 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,020.94 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,796.07 crore, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 426.86 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 84,818.13. The Nifty went up by 140.55 points or 0.55 per cent to 25,898.55.
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Nine killed, 23 injured as bus falls off ghat road in Andhra Pradesh
Chinturu (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Nine people were killed and 23 others injured after a bus fell off a ghat road and turned turtle here in Alluri Sitaramaraju district in the early hours of Friday, police said.
They said the bus, which was heading to neighbouring Telangana, was carrying 37 people, including the driver and the cleaner. Six of them are safe.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Bardar said the accident occurred around 4.30 am on Chintoor-Maredumilli ghat road near a Durga temple.
"At least nine people were killed, and 23 were injured as the bus fell off the ghat road. It turned turtle... and got stuck," Bardar told PTI, adding that four of the injured are critical.
According to the officer, it is likely that the bus driver did not see a curve at the accident site due to heavy fog.
Police said the bus plunged from a higher ghat road and was lying upside down by a road located below. The accident occurred near the China Wall, which was built to prevent vehicles from plunging off the road. "We don't think the death toll will rise, and the four critically injured persons are doing okay," said a police official.
The SP noted that the bus was carrying people from Chittoor area, who had completed a visit to Araku and were proceeding to Sri Rama temple at Bhadrachalam in Telangana district.
Mothugudem police station booked a case under Section 106 (which deals with causing death by rash and negligent driving) of BNS. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed anguish over the accident.
The Chief Minister spoke to officials over the accident to enquire about the treatment being offered to the injured persons, said an official press release.
Officials informed Naidu that the injured persons were shifted to Chinturu hospital and other hospitals for better treatment.
