Stock Market Today: Sensex Gains 122 Points; Nifty Tops 21,450. Nestle Jumps 4.6%; IT Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle, NTPC, Reliance, SBI, HUL, ITC were among lead gainers. On the downside, Wipro, TCS, HCL, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday pared their losses and closed with decent gains in a volatile session. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 122 points to 71,437. On the other hand, NSE Nifty50 settled at 21,453, up 34 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle, NTPC, Reliance, SBI, HUL, ITC were among lead gainers. On the downside, Wipro, TCS, HCL, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv emerged losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap dropped 0.31 per cent while the BSE Smallcap rose 0.10 per cent.

Sectorally, mixed trend was seen, with metal, pharma, oil & gas, power and FMCG rose 0.3-1 per cent, while auto, capital goods, realty, Information Technology slipped 0.3-0.8 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 71,315, down 169 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 21,419, down 38 points.

"The broader market sustained its optimism, but the incremental rally is contracting. Investors are cautious ahead of the Eurozone inflation data announcement, which is forecast to drop marginally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai settled in the positive territory, while Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading in the green. The US markets ended with gains on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.30 per cent to $77.72 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 33.51 crore on Monday after continuous buying, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee declined by 9 paise to settle at 83.19 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday due to dollar buying by importers amid lingering worries over oil supplies through the Red Sea route. Forex traders said that positive sentiment in the stock market, a weak greenback against major currencies overseas and steady crude oil prices restricted losses in the local currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened flat at 83.10 against the greenback and traded between the peak of 83.09 and the lowest level of 83.22. It finally settled at 83.19, registering a loss of 9 paise over its previous close.