Indian equity benchmarks traded higher in Tuesday's early trade, led by gains in automobile and state-owned banks. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack rose 288 points or 0.44 per cent to trade at 65,800, while the NSE Nifty moved 84 points or 0.43 per cent up to trade at 19,597. Broader market (mid- and small-cap) shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.74 per cent and small-cap gained 0.88 per cent.
On the global front, Asian markets opened higher tracking an overnight rise in Wall Street indices.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 997.76 crore of shares on a net basis during the previous session, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,661.27 crore of stocks, exchange data showed. FIIs remained net seller for 14th consecutive session.
"DIIs are increasing their purchases. Calibrated buying in small quantities in quality stocks in banking, automobiles, IT, capital goods and real estate/construction would be a good strategy for long-term investors," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.23 per cent and 1.11 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Pharma shed 0.13 per cent.
On the stock-specific front, Adani Ports was the top gainer in the Nifty pack as the stock jumped 2.89 per cent to trade at Rs 812.9. Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Adani Enterprises and M&M gained up to 1.79 per cent.
In contrast, Dr Reddy's, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Divi's Labs and Cipla were among the top laggards.
The overall market breadth was positive as 2,335 shares were advancing while 561 were declining on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE index, index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Airtel, Reliance Industries, Infosys, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors were among the top gainers.
Also, ITI, Gujarat Mineral, KIOCL, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Gabriel India surged up to 8.14 per cent. On the flipside, Triveni Turbines, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Carysil, Maharashtra Seamless and Dr. Lal PathLabs slipped up to 3.94 per cent.
Nifty outlook
"Though the downside gapped opening yesterday failed to cascade into a collapse, the close below 19,600 suggest that the regrouping of bulls has not been strong enough. We will look for sustained trades above 19,545 early today to nurture hopes of getting back to the 19,900 trajectories. Else, expect the ongoing weakness to persist and aim for 19,180 with hopes of 19,340 attempting a pullback midway," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
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