The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday extended their rally to the eighth day as the indices witnessed a firm trading session. The BSE Sensex closed at 61,355, up 242 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty gained 83 points to 18,148.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, TechM, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Infosys, PowerGrid emerged winners. On the downside, Sun Pharma, UltraCemco, Airtel, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank Bajaj Finance were among the losers.
Shares of Adani Group were in focus as the companies announced the Q4 earnings. Technical charts indicate a positive trend for select stocks in the near term.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced around 0.7 per cent each as against the 0.4 per cent gain on the BSE benchmark.
All the sectoral indices closed green except Nifty FMCG and Pharma. Nifty Metal and Energy index was the top gainer which gained 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
In the previous session on Friday, rallying for the fifth straight session, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 463 points to settle at 61,112, while the NSE Nifty50 shut shop at 18,065, up 150 points.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly lower. The US markets had ended marginally lower on Monday.
GST collection in April rose by 12 per cent annually to over Rs 1.87 lakh crore, touching an all-time monthly high, showed finance ministry data released on Monday. Manufacturing activities in India accelerated further and touched a four-month high in April, boosted by robust new business growth, mild price pressures, better international sales, and improving supply-chain conditions, a monthly survey said on Monday.
Markets are now awaiting the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Friday as they bought equities worth Rs 3,304.32 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 6 paise lower at 81.88 (provisional) against the American currency on Tuesday as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the US Fed meeting outcome.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened on a positive note at 81.75 but pared early gains to settle 6 paise lower at 81.88 against the US dollar despite a firm trend in domestic equities. During the day, the rupee touched a high of 81.72 and a low of 81.95 against the American currency. On Friday, the rupee closed at 81.82 against the US currency.