Indian equity benchmarks were trading higher in Tuesday's trade, led by gains in IT, metal, PSU bank and energy stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 181 points or 0.25 per cent to trade at 72,123, while the NSE Nifty was up 63 points or 0.29 per cent to trade at 21,801. Broader markets (mid- and small-cap shares) were also positive as Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.52 per cent and small-cap gained 0.72 per cent.
On the global front, Asian markets were muted today. Overnight, Wall Street equities settled higher with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh record high.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Rs 110.01 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous session and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 3,221.34 crore worth of shares, exchange data showed.
"Despite premium valuations, confidence is upheld among investors due to the optimistic environment surrounding the interim budget," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
BSE500 stocks such as UTI AMC, NHPC, Firstsource Solutions, RBA, IRB Infra and NLC India jumped up to 7.90 per cent.
14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty IT, Nifty Metal, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.08 per cent, 0.69 per cent, 0.58 per cent and 0.71 per cent, respectively. Nifty FMCG, however, shed 0.21 per cent.
On the stock-specific front, Dr Reddy's was the top gainer in the Nifty pack as the stock soared 1.41 per cent to trade at Rs 5,926. Hindalco, Wipro, Tata Motors and TCS rose up to 1.28 per cent.
In contrast, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and PowerGrid were among the top losers on Nifty50.
The overall market breadth was strong as 1,913 shares were advancing while 912 were declining on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE index, Infosys, Airtel, HUL, TCS and Axis Bank were among the top gainers.
Also, UTI AMC, NHPC, Firstsource Solutions, RBA, IRB Infra and NLC India jumped up to 7.90 per cent. On the other hand, Garware Technical Fibres, Bajaj Finance, Borosil Renewables, SW Solar, Chalet Hotels and Adani Energy Solutions slipped up to 6.32 per cent.
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