Stock Market: Sensex Gains 150 Points, Nifty At 19,575. Broader Indices Shine; PSU Bank, Realty Rise

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Sun Pharma, Titan, ITC, L&T, Nestle, HUL were among the early gainers. JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Airtel, UltraCemco, HDFC Bank, Wipro emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday that opened flat with a positive bias, were trading in the green despite tracking weak Asian cues. At 9.50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex went up by 145 points to 65,773. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was trading at 19,575, up 46 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Sun Pharma, Titan, ITC, L&T, Nestle, HUL were among the early gainers. On the downside, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Airtel, UltraCemco, HDFC Bank, Wipro emerged losers. Among specific stocks, YES Bank shares gained 2 per cent after the lender clarified and denied any role in settlement or negotiation after the sale of the loan portfolio to JC Flowers ARC. Zen Technologies shares were also up over 2.3 per cent as it bagged order worth Rs 123.3 crore from the Ministry of Defence.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal and IT indices were in the negative zone, falling 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. On the upside, the Nifty PSU Bank and Realty indices rose 0.9 per cent each.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex ended 241 points higher at 65,628, while, the NSE Nifty closed at 19,529, up 94 points.

Following the recent spate of strong macroeconomic numbers, the sentiment has turned risk on for investors, although concerns over weak monsoon would continue to weigh in the near term, Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities Ltd, said.

Domestic passenger vehicle sales hit a record in August, led by highest-ever monthly dispatches from Maruti Suzuki on the back of festive demand and the continued strong offtake of SUVs.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory. The US markets were closed on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.07 per cent to $88.94 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,367.67 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 13 paise to 82.84 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid the withdrawal of foreign funds from domestic equities and firm crude oil prices. Positive sentiment in the equity markets failed to provide support to the Indian currency facing pressure due to the elevated level of greenback, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.78, then touched the lowest level of 82.84 against the American currency, registering a decline of 13 paise over its last close. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 82.71 against the dollar.