Sensex up 176 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex Friday rose by 176 points in early trade, mainly on the back of a rally in IT-sector stocks after Infosys posted "better-than-expected" third quarter earnings.
  
Besides, a firming trend in the global markets also buoyed the trading sentiment here.
  
The 30-share index, which had lost nearly 80 points in the previous two sessions, rose by 176.25 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 19,839.80, with stocks of IT, technology, consumer durables and metal sectors leading the rise in early trade.
  
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 50.20 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 6,018.85.
  
Buying activity triggered after better-than-expected third quarter earnings by IT major Infosys, mainly influenced the trading sentiment, brokers said.
  
A better trend in the Asian region following overnight gains on US markets following stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data, boosting growth hopes for the world's second- biggest economy, further generated buying by participants, they said.
  
Shares of Infosys climbed 12.43 per cent to Rs 2,609 in early trade, after the company reported consolidated profit for the October-December period at Rs 2,369 crore.
  
In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.33 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei Index gained 1.03 per cent in the morning trade Friday.
  
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.60 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.