New Delhi, Jan. 5 -- Contrary to fears that a US strike on Venezuela would dent stock market sentiment, major Asian markets rallied sharply on Monday. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi jumped more than 3%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose over 1%.

The Indian stock market, however, traded in a narrow range.

The Sensex opened at 85,640.05 against its previous close of 85,762.01 and touched an intraday high and low of 85,883.50 and 85,516.75, respectively. The Nifty started the day at 26,333.70 against its previous close of 26,328.55 and touched its record high of 26,373.20 and an intraday low of 26,263.60.

Around 11 am, the Sensex was 55 points, or 0.06%, up at 85,816.70, while the Nifty 50 was 29 points, or 0.11%, up at ...