Sensex Rallies 300 Points; Axis Bank, Titan, Reliance Industries Top Gainers

Asian shares face another tough week as Beijing's regulatory crackdown fans fears about China's economy

The domestic stock markets have started the week on an upbeat note, ignoring the mixed cues from the global markets. At 9:20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 52,904.20, higher by 321 points or 0.62 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 15,859.25, up 97.10 points or 0.61 per cent. The broader markets are also trading firm, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index gaining 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively. All the sectoral indices are trading in the green, with the auto and PSU bank indices gaining around a per cent each on the BSE. Asian shares face another tough week as Beijing's regulatory crackdown fans fears about China's economy, though upbeat economic data in the United States and Europe and solid corporate earnings put a floor under their markets. China's problems were underlined over the weekend by a survey showing factory activity grew at the slowest pace in 17 months amid rising costs and extreme weather. Japan's Nikkei bounced back 1.1 per cent, but that was from its lowest since January.