Sensex climbs 500 pts, Nifty above 17,000 in early trade

TNI Bureau: Key indices Nifty50 climbed over 150 points to trade above 17,000 levels and the S&P BSE Sensex jumped over 450 points to trade at 57,149 levels.

Broader markets, meanwhile, outperformed benchmark indices as Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices surged over 1 per cent each.

While Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, ITC, Axis Bank, helped benchmark indices gain in trade; Asian Paints, Power Grid, TCS, Nestle India, weighed on the indices.

Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Thursday as a strong dollar and economic woes outweighed optimism over consumer demand. Brent crude futures fell 59 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $88.73 per barrel by 0016 GMT while U.S. crude futures fell by 54 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $81.59.