Sensex off to a flying start in morning trade

The benchmark Sensex extended its rally by 195 points in late morning trade following sustained buying in auto, realty, consumer durables, telecom, finance and capital goods, but healthcare stocks were trading in red.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices were up 0.82 per cent and 1.19 per cent, respectively — outperforming the Sensex.

The 30-share Sensex opened higher at 26,408.62 and hovered in a range of 26,577.45 and 26,357.56 before quoting 26,545.32 at 1100 hours, showing a rise of 195.15 points, or 0.74 per cent, from its last close. The NSE 50-share Nifty was also trading up by 57.05 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 8,183.95 at 1100 hours.