New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks edged higher on Tuesday on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Asian equity markets rose cautiously Tuesday, after touching year to date lows the day before, with traders keeping at least half an eye on the United States where major companies report earnings and the Federal Reserve meets on policy this week. In domestic markets, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Tata Consultancy Services among the top movers.
As of 9:21 am, the Sensex was up 148 points at 53,000 and Nifty 50 index advanced 49 points to 15,873.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.26 per cent after touching its lowest level since mid-December on Monday, weighed down by big Chinese stocks.
Back home, buying was visible across the sectors, but the gains were capped as investors’ assess corporate earnings for fresh buying triggers, analysts said.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹ 2,377 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹ 1,551 crore.
All the 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty Metal index’s 1.3 per cent gain. Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Financial Services and Metal indices also rose between 0.7-1 per cent.
Broader markets were outperforming their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index advanced 0.6 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index jumped nearly 1 per cent.
Hindalco was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 3.44 per cent to ₹ 414. SBI Life, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Life, Shree Cements, Maruti Suzuki and Titan also rose between 0.7-1.7 per cent.
On the flipside, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle India, Tata Motors, HDFC, Britannia Industries, Bharti Airtel and Adani Ports were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 1,942 shares were advancing while 676 were declining on the BSE.
(Reuters)