Markets up in early trade; Sensex gains 69 pts

A benchmark index of the equities markets on Monday rose by nearly 69 points in early trade on buying by funds amid a firm trend in other Asian bourses.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 68.72 points, or 0.36 percent, to 19,085.18 points with banking, metal and auto sectoral indices leading the rise by gaining up to 0.71 percent.

The index had gained 285.30 points in the previous session on Thursday.

The wide-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange moved up by 27.15 points, or 0.47 percent, to 5,810.25.

Stocks of IT major Wipro fell by 8.06 percent to Rs 338.95 even as company reported 16.73 percent increase in net profit to Rs 1,728.7 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013. In the Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.11 percent, while Japan's Nikkei by 1.94 percent in early trade on Monday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.07 percent in the previous session on Friday.