Sensex, Nifty trade flat after early gains, IT stocks take the lead

• Wipro, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Infosys are among the top gainers.
• Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank are major laggards.
• In Asian peers, Tokyo is in the positive territory while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong are in the red.

Benchmark equity indices, the Nifty and the Sensex, traded flat in morning trade after climbing in early trade on Friday, extending their previous day's rally, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in IT stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 308.91 points to 72,156.48 in early trade. The Nifty climbed 91 points to 21,749.60. At the time of publishing, the Nifty and the Sensex were 0.1% in the green.

Among the Sensex firms, Wipro, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies were the major gainers.

Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were the laggards.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark jumped 490.97 points or 0.69% to settle at 71,847.57 and the Nifty climbed 141.25 points or 0.66% to 21,658.60.

In Asian markets, Tokyo traded in the positive territory while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.39% to USD 77.89 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,513.41 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.