Stock Market: Sensex Climbs 249 Points, Nifty Settles Above 18,400 Tracking Positive Cues

Stock update: Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Dr Reddy's, and Asian Paints were the major winners on the Sensex platform

The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday ended day's trade in the green after exhibiting lacklustre movement for major part of the trading session. The domestic indices recouped losses after tracking unabated foreign capital inflows amid a positive trend in global markets.

After a see-saw session, the BSE Sensex jumped 249 points (0.40 per cent) to end at 61,873, surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,795 on November 11. During the day, the index witnessed a high of 61,955 and a low of 61,436. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty gained 74 points (0.41 per cent) to finish at 18,403.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Dr Reddy's, and Asian Paints were the major winners. On the flip side, ITC, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Nestle were among the laggards.

Among specific stocks, ONGC hit a four-month high in intraday trades after the company announced its Q2 results and declared a 135 per cent interim dividend. The stock eventually ended with a gain of 2.4 per cent at Rs 142.50.

The broader indices ended on a flat note. The breadth, however, was marginally negative, with around 1,830 declining shares versus 1,679 advancing stocks on the BSE.

Sectorwise, the BSE Oil & Gas index advanced a per cent. The Bankex was the other significant gainer. Whereas, the Metal index slipped 0.6 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended higher. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in the afternoon session. Wall Street ended in negative territory on Monday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.62 per cent lower at $91.63 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers on Monday as they bought shares worth Rs 1,089.41 crore, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 17 paise to close at 81.11 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, on positive domestic macroeconomic data and weak American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.18 and touched an intra-day high of 81.04 and a low of 81.45 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 81.11, registering a rise of 17 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee depreciated by 50 paise to close at 81.28 against the US currency.