Financials, IT stocks push Sensex above 61,000; Nifty near 18,200

Tracking positive cues from peers, Indian equity indices opened higher for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, led by the banking, financial, auto, and IT stocks.

The BSE Sensex was trading 242 points or 0.40% higher at 61,185. Nifty50 was trading at 18,180, up 62 points or 0.34% at around 9.26 am.

Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra rose about 0.5-1%. Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, SBI, M&M, and Maruti also opened with gains.

On the other hand Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Nestle, Power Grid, and Kotak Bank opened with cuts.

Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank rose 0.74% and Nifty IT surged 0.66%. Nifty Auto and Nifty Consumer Durables also opened higher whereas, in the broader market, Nifty Smallcap50 rose 0.37%, and Nifty Midcap50 advanced 0.17%.

“A significant trend in the global equity market now is the outperformance of the mother market US. The hope of a soft landing for the US economy is increasing and the market is responding to this. The positive sentiments are favourable for a pre-budget rally, too," Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global Markets
Wall Street surged on Monday as investors embarked on an earnings-heavy week with renewed enthusiasm for market-leading momentum stocks that were battered last year.

All three major stock indexes gained, with the Nasdaq leading the way, adding 2%. This with tech, up 2.3%, making it the best-performing S&P 500 sector. Tech was boosted by a 5% gain in semiconductor shares.

Japan's Nikkei share average jumped more than 1.5% on Tuesday, erasing its losses since the Bank of Japan's surprise policy tweak last month, with technology shares tracking Wall Street's strength to lead the charge. The Nikkei rose 1.61% to 27,339.61 by the midday break.

Currency Watch
The Indian rupee fell 0.14% to 81.5 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, declined 0.20% to 101.93 level.

Crude Price
Crude oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trade on Tuesday in a market focused on prospects of demand recovery from top importer China and on the global economic outlook ahead of company earnings.

Brent crude had risen 0.01% to $88.19 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.12% to $81.72 per barrel.

(With inputs from agencies)