Equity indices extend gains & open positive; Sensex up over 350 pts

New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) India's key equity indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- extended their gains from the previous day and traded in the green in early trade on Wednesday.

At 9.42 a.m., Sensex was 0.7 per cent or 378 points up at 58,321 points, whereas Nifty 0.6 per cent or 105 points up at 17,430 points.

Among the individual stocks, Tata Consumers, Bajaj Finserv, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Finance, and Grasim Industries were the top five gainers among the Nifty 50 companies, while ONGC, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Tech Mahindra the top five losers, NSE data showed.

Pharma, housing and telecom stocks can lend support to the rally, said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"But the upside to the rally is likely to be capped by profit taking and concerns arising from the hawkish US Fed," Vijayakumar said.