Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early deals on Tuesday, propelled by foreign fund inflows and crude oil prices reverting to pre-war levels amid easing tensions in West Asia. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 176 points to 78,461.16 in opening trade, while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 34.1 points to 24,464.45.
Top Gainers and Laggards
Among the Sensex pack, Titan, Infosys, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and Tata Consultancy Services emerged as major winners. On the other hand, Trent tumbled 9.8 per cent, while Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, ITC, and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Foreign Fund Inflows and Crude Oil
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 243.03 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was quoted at USD 72.45 per barrel. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said, "There are distinct signs of an uptrend in the market. Two factors which were weighing on Indian markets - the crude price hike and sustained FPI selling - are now behind us and has reversed. Crude is back to the pre-war level and FPIs have turned buyers." He added that the FPI buying is not yet a strong trend, but the fact that they have stopped selling and turned buyers is a significant shift, likely to sustain supported by fundamentals.
Global Market Performance
Asian markets presented a mixed picture, with South Korea's Kospi tanking 7 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also trading lower. In contrast, US markets ended higher on Monday. On the previous trading day, the Sensex had jumped 521.16 points, or 0.67 per cent, to settle at 78,285.07, while the Nifty climbed 159.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, to end at 24,430.35.
