Mumbai, July 1 : Domestic equity benchmarks traded higher on Wednesday in morning trade, tracking firm global cues, although concerns over a weak monsoon continued to weigh on the market outlook.

Sensex jumped over 200 points or 0.28 per cent to hit an intraday high of 76,697.37 in early trade. Similarly, Nifty rose 70 points or 0.28 per cent to 23,934.90.

Sectorally, buying was seen in media, auto, consumer durables, FMCG, IT, realty and pharma stocks. Nifty Media index gained over 1 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto and Nifty Consumer Durables -- both of which surged more than 1 per cent.

In contrast, Nifty Metal was the biggest laggard, falling 0.61 per cent, while Nifty Chemicals and Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom also traded lower.

Among the Nifty constituents, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco Industries, HDFC Life, Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, Coal India, NTPC and Larsen & Toubro were among the top losers.

According to market experts, while global factors continue to support equities, the weak monsoon remains the biggest domestic concern.

They said a prolonged rainfall deficiency could affect rural demand and stoke inflation, prompting investors to rebalance portfolios towards defensive sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, power and select defence stocks.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices edged higher, with global benchmark Brent crude rising 0.72 per cent to $73.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1 per cent to $70.19 a barrel.

Asian markets traded mixed, with Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.8 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.64 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI declined nearly 1 per cent.

Overnight in the US, Wall Street ended higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.79 per cent and the Nasdaq closing 1.52 per cent higher.

/IANS