Markets Surge in Early Trade

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices surged in early trade on Friday, driven by a rally in IT stocks and a firm trend in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 492.71 points to 72,213.89 in early deals. The Nifty climbed 141.95 points to 21,789.15.

Among the Sensex firms, Infosys jumped more than 6 per cent in early trade despite reporting a lower-than-expected 7.3 per cent fall in net profit in the December quarter on sluggish demand from clients and cut its annual sales forecast.