Markets up in early trade, Sensex gains 90 pts

A benchmark index of the equities markets gained nearly 90 points in early trade on Tuesday on sustained buying by funds and retail investors mainly in oil and gas, power, realty and IT sector stocks.

Rising for the second straight session, the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), rose by 89.34 points, or 0.45 percent, to 19,762.98.

In yesterday's session, Sensex had gone up by 98 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty traded 22.90 points, or 0.36 percent, higher at 5,993.95.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.28 percent to trade at nearly five-year high, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 0.14 percent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.03 percent lower in Monday’s trade.