Stock Market Today: Sensex Rises Over 300 Points; Nifty Above 21,850. IT Leads; Jio Fin Slips 5%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, Airtel, Wipro, HCLTech, Maruti, TechM emerged early gainers. PowerGrid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Reliance were among losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday are trading in the positive zone after they opened with nominal losses. At 10am, the BSE Sensex advanced 307 points to 72,039. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 21,860, up 88 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, Airtel, Wipro, HCLTech, Maruti, TechM emerged early gainers. On the down side, PowerGrid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Reliance were among the losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices held gains of up to 0.5 per cent.

Among specific stocks, Reliance Jio Financial dropped 5 per cent on refuting reports of being in talks to buy Paytm's wallet business.

Sectorally, Nifty IT was the top gainer, up 1.5 per cent. Auto, healthcare, and oil & gas also rose 0.5-2 per cent. Selling can be seen in the metal, bank, and power stocks.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 354 points lower to 71,731, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 21,772, down 82 points.

"The positive takeaway is that the US economy is doing surprisingly well and a sharp global slowdown triggered by a possible US recession is very unlikely," said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, and Tokyo quoted in the negative territory while Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in the green. The US markets ended lower on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 518.88 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.08 per cent to $78.05 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee stayed flat at 83.03 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid volatile crude oil prices in the overseas market. The Indian currency, however, found support from positive sentiment in the domestic equity markets and sustained inflow of foreign funds, forex traders said.

They also said investors are expected to move cautiously ahead of the Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting. The six-member rate-setting panel of the central bank will begin the deliberation on Tuesday and announce the outcome on Thursday.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.03 against the dollar and slipped to 83.04 before retaining the previous day's closing level of 83.03 against the greenback. The rupee settled 5 paise lower at 83.03 against the dollar on Monday.