Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Tuesday bounced back for the third straight day after falling in initial trade on Tuesday amid foreign funds inflow and a mixed trend in global markets.
The BSE Sensex gained 246 points (0.45 per cent) to settle at 54,767 after starting the trade on a weak note. In a volatile session, the benchmark hit a high of 54,817 and a low of 54,232 during intra-day trade. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 62 points (0.38 per cent) to close at 16,340.
Among the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, and State Bank of India were the major gainers. However, Nestle India, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s and Asian Paints were the biggest laggards.
In the broader markets Midcap and Smallcap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.67 per cent and Smallcap climbed 1.02 per cent.
On NSE, 11 out of the 15 sector gauges settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto outperformed the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.02 per cent and 1.05 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Oil& Gas fell as much as 0.25 per cent and 0.13 per cent, respectively.
The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,031 shares advanced, while 1,278 declined on the BSE.
Sensex had rallied 760 points or 1.41 per cent to close at 54,521 on Monday, while Nifty had moved 229 points or 1.43 per cent higher to settle at 16,279.
The rupee breached the 80-mark against the dollar on Tuesday.
In Asia, markets in Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the green. Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note during mid-session deals. The US markets had ended lower on Monday.
European stocks were choppy on Tuesday as the relief rally seen in the previous two sessions lost some momentum. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.89 per cent in mid-morning trade amid reports the European Central Bank may opt for 50 basis points rate hike on Thursday.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.57 per cent to $105.7 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers on Monday, picking up shares worth Rs 156.08 crore, as per exchange data.