Markets climb on firm global trends, foreign fund inflows

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied on Tuesday tracking a positive trend in the global markets and unabated foreign fund inflows. Buying in index major Reliance Industries, Infosys and ITC also helped markets extend their previous day's gain. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 273.67 points or 0.42 per cent to settle at 65,617.84. During the day, it rallied 526.42 points or 0.80 per cent to 65,870.59. The NSE Nifty climbed 83.50 points or 0.43 per cent to end at 19,439.40.

From the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Maruti, Tata Motors, ITC, Nestle, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Asian Paints, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid and Reliance Industries were the major gainers. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggard from the 30-share pack.

"The market now awaits the Q1 results, IT sector which kicks off tomorrow, where expectations are muted with a focus on the sustenance of margin and improvement in long-term guidance. The positivity also stems from China's anticipated stimulus to withstand economic growth and hope on the moderation in US inflation data," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.97 per cent and smallcap index rallied 0.82 per cent. Among the indices, telecommunication climbed 2.05 per cent, capital goods jumped 1.79 per cent, industrials rallied 1.56 per cent, consumer durables (1.35 per cent), power (1.34 per cent), auto (1.34 per cent), FMCG (1.21 per cent) and consumer discretionary (1.15 per cent). Metal, commodities, financial services and bankex were the laggards.

A total of 1,935 stocks advanced while 1,549 declined and 117 remained unchanged on the BSE. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying momentum as they bought equities worth Rs 1,197.38 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 77.83 a barrel. The BSE benchmark gained 63.72 points or 0.10 per cent to settle at 65,344.17 on Monday. The Nifty advanced 24.10 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 19,355.90.