The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday started on a solid note. At 10 am, the BSE Sensex gained 404 points to 71,828. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 21,689, up 117 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, TechM, TCS, were among the gainers. On the downside, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, HUL, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, SBI emerged losers. Among specific stocks, Zee Entertainment plunged 10 per cent after Sony Pictures Networks India on Monday issued a termination notice to Zee Entertainment on their merger agreement. Sony has also sought $90 million in termination fees from Zee.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added up to 0.8 per cent.
Sectorally, Nifty Pharma index gained 1.6 per cent, followed by the Nifty Bank index (up 0.75 per cent), while the Nifty Media index declined over 3 per cent.
In the previous session on Monday, the domestic indices on January 22 was shut on account of the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
According to V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, "Now, sentiments are positive globally as well as in India. The sentimental support from the mother market is strong since the S&P 500 is at record high at 4850." On Friday, the Dow and the S&P 500 set new record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were trading in green and China's Shanghai Composite was in the negative. European markets closed largely higher on Friday with Germany's DAX gaining 0.77 per cent and CAC 40 of France rising 0.56 per cent. London's FTSE 100 also advanced 0.35 per cent.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.03 per cent to $80.04 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 545.58 crore on Saturday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 6 paise to 83.13 against the US dollar in the morning session, amid elevated crude oil prices and dollar demand from importers. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.11 against the dollar, then fell to 83.13, registering a fall of 6 paise from its previous close. In the initial trade, the rupee also touched an early high of 83.09 against the US dollar. On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.07 against the US dollar.