Mumbai, Aug 10: Domestic equity markets traded higher in early deals on Monday, supported by resilient domestic demand, better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and continued buying by foreign investors, while rising crude oil prices kept gains in check.
The Sensex climbed 177.81 points, or 0.22 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 78,676, while the Nifty advanced nearly 50 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 24,620.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma gained 0.72 per cent, followed by Nifty MidSmall Healthcare and Nifty500 Healthcare, which rose 0.63 per cent each.
Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom advanced 0.58 per cent, while Nifty IT gained 0.53 per cent. Private banking, auto, consumer durables and realty stocks also traded higher.
Nifty Oil & Gas was the biggest sectoral laggard, declining 0.27 per cent, followed by PSU Bank, which fell 0.21 per cent.
Market experts said the underlying trend remained mildly bullish as resilient domestic demand and better-than-expected first-quarter earnings continued to support investor sentiment.
With the earnings season nearing its end, most companies have reported earnings growth above expectations, providing further support to the market, they said.
Experts expect domestic demand to remain a key driver of revenue and earnings growth in the second quarter. Banking and financial services, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, metals and digital-platform companies are expected to remain relatively resilient despite challenges, including deficient monsoon rainfall.
The monsoon shortfall has been partly offset by improved rainfall in July, which could support rural demand, experts said.
Foreign institutional investors turning net buyers in July and continuing to buy on most trading days in August so far has also provided support to the market.
In the commodity market, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading more than 1 per cent higher at $84.73 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.59 per cent to $79.43 a barrel.
Higher crude prices remain a concern for India, which is heavily dependent on oil imports, as a sustained rise in energy costs could put pressure on inflation and corporate margins.
Investors are likely to track global market cues, crude oil prices, foreign fund flows and developments in the domestic earnings season for further direction.