Stock Market: Sensex Nears 67,000, Gains Over 200 Points; Nifty Around 19,800. Auto, Banks Rise

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, NTPC, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank were among the lead gainers in early trade

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, opened on a strong note on Tuesday, with the Nifty50 scaled a fresh all-time high of 19,811 and the S&P BSE Sensex hit the 66,986-mark. At 9.48 am, the BSE Sensex was up 244 points to 66,834. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,774, up 63 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, NTPC, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank were among the lead gainers in early trade. On the downside, Airtel, Titan, Tata Motors, UltraCemco, TechM, M&M emerged losers. Among specific stocks, Patanjali Foods were mildly in green as GQG Partners said it has invested around Rs 2,400 crore in the company. In the offer of sale (OFS), the GQG Group picked a 5.96 per cent stake or 21.5 million shares in the FMCG firm.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices gained up to 0.4 per cent.

Sectorwise, buying is seen in the auto, bank, capital goods, realty, oil & gas and power stocks, while some selling can be witnessed in the information technology, metal and PSU Bank stocks.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 66,590, surging 529 points, while the Nifty50 settled at 19,711, up 147 points.

"The global market construct continues to be favourable for the bulls. The declining dollar and the capital flows to emerging markets that it triggers can impart resilience to the market. However, high valuations and possible profit-booking can restrain the rally. A healthy consolidation can be the near-term trend," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Tokyo quoted in the green, while Seoul and Shanghai were trading lower. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equities worth Rs 73 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.38 per cent to $78.80 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in the morning session on Tuesday, as the support from positive domestic equities and weak American currency was negated by rising crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.01, then slipped to 82.06, registering a decline of 3 paise over its last close. In early trade the rupee also touched a high of 81.97 against the American currency. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 82.03 against the dollar.