Stock Market Extends Rally To Fourth Day: Sensex Gains 123 Points, Nifty Ends Above 18,600. IT Leads, Metals Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platforms, ITC, Bajaj twins, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, HCL, Wipro emerged winners. TechM, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Nestle, L&T, Tata Motors were among the losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday extended their rally for the fourth day as the two indices oscillated between gains and losses during intraday trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex scaled a high of 63,036 in late deals, finally settling 123 points higher at 62,969. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50 touched a high of 18,662, and ended with a gain of 35 points at 18,634. The Bank Nifty hit a record peak for the second straight trading session at 44,498.60 on Tuesday. The banking index eventually was up 0.3 per cent for the day.

On the 30-share Sensex platforms, ITC, Bajaj twins, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, HCL, Wipro emerged winners. On the flipside, TechM, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Nestle, L&T, Tata Motors were among the losers.

Among specific stocks, ITC was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, rising 2.31 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices added 0.2 per cent each.

Secotrwise, the IT and Bankex indices moved up to 0.4 per cent higher, while the Metal index slipped 1.3 per cent on Tuesday.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE benchmark settled 345 points higher at 62,846, while the NSE Nifty, which hit a high of 18,641, and ended at 18,599, up 99 points.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in the green. The US markets were closed on Monday for Memorial Day.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Monday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,758.16 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.30 per cent to $75.30 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 7 paise to 82.70 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments. A positive trend in domestic equities, foreign capital inflows and a steep fall in the crude prices capped the losses in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

Concerns over the US payroll data to be released on Friday restricted participants from trading in the volatile market.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened flat at 82.63 against the US dollar and hit the lowest level of 82.79. It finally settled at 82.71 (provisional), registering a fall of 8 paise over its previous close.