Stock Market Gains For Seventh Session: Sensex Rises 311 Points, Nifty Settles Above 17,700

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Kotak Bank was the lead gainer with 5.04 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday advanced for a seventh consecutive session, rising 0.5 per cent each on the bourses on positive cues.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 311 points to 61,152. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty went up by 98 points 17,722.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Kotak Bank was the lead gainer with 5.04 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv. On the downside, losses in Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra, ahead of the Q4 results season, capped upside.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index advanced 0.4 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index shut shop 0.68 per cent higher.

Volatility gauge, India VIX, eased 2.5 per cent on Tuesday.

Among sectors, auto, bank, metal, oil & gas, power indices rose 1 per cent each, while the IT index was down nearly 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an intra-day high of 60,109, closed at 59,846, up 14 points (0.02 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 closed at 17,624, up 25 points (0.14 per cent). It touched 17,694 during intra-day trading.   

"Nifty rose for the seventh consecutive session on April 11 helped by positive global cues. Asian and European markets mostly rose on Tuesday after an Easter break with the focus now turning to the release of US inflation data later in the week," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, and Hong Kong ended in the green, while Shanghai settled lower. European equity markets were trading in positive territory during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended mostly with gains in the overnight session on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.35 per cent to $84.53 per barrel.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought equities worth Rs 882.52 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 13 paise to close at 82.12 (provisional) against the US currency on Tuesday as dollar demand from importers weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.96 against the dollar, and finally ended the day at 82.12 (provisional), 13 paise lower from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 81.96 and a low of 82.15 against the greenback. The rupee on Monday rose 3 paise and settled at 81.99 against the US dollar.