Stock Market: Sensex Rises 275 Points, Nifty Nears 18,200 On Firm Global Cues. IT, PSU Banks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech M, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Finserv were the early winners

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, started trade higher on Tuesday, tracking strong global cues. At 9.45 am, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 275 points to 61,217 in early deals. On the other hand, the Nifty50 was trading at 18,188, up 70 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech M, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Finserv were the early winners. On the other hand, Axis Bank, UltraCemco, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Airtel, Nestle were the prime losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices surged up to 0.2 per cent.

Sectorally, the Nifty IT and PSU Bank indices (up 0.5 per cent each) were the star performers, followed by Nifty Bank index (up 0.4 per cent). On the downside, the Nifty Realty index fell 0.2 per cent.

Around 80 companies are scheduled to report their December quarter (Q3) results on Tuesday, including Cartrade Tech, Colgate Palmolive, HDFC AMC, Maruti Suzuki India, SBI Card, and TVS Motor Company. Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, likely to see sequential decline in net profit and revenue because of moderation in sales volume in Q3. The net profit is expected to increase up to 92 per cent YoY, but decline up to 7.7 per cent per cent QoQ, in the range of Rs 1,794.4 crore to Rs 1,940 crore.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex, which leaped around 500 points to the day's high, settled 320 points higher at 60,942. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty ended at 18,118, up 91 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee declined by 26 paise to 81.68 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday due to a rise in crude oil prices and forex outflows.

Early gains in domestic equity markets and a weak dollar against world currencies, however, restricted the rupee's losses. The local unit opened lower at 81.48 to a dollar against the last close of 81.42. It moved in a range of 81.48 to 81.68 in morning deals.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee was trading at 81.68 to a dollar at 0925 hrs. Forex dealers said forex outflows from capital markets are weighing on the local unit. Firm crude oil prices are also hitting the rupee sentiment, they added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 219.87 crore, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors pulled out a net amount of Rs 15,236 crore this month so far on attractive Chinese markets and concerns about the US economy entering a recession.