Mumbai, February 17 Stock markets closed higher for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, driven by gains in shares of banks, IT companies, and capital goods firms.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 173.81 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 83,450.96. The index fluctuated between a high of 83,598 and a low of 82,987.43 during the day.
The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced by 42.65 points, or 0.17 percent, to settle at 25,725.40.
Among the Sensex constituents, ITC, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Asian Paints, Titan, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Maruti Suzuki India, IndiGo, State Bank of India, and Tech Mahindra were the major gainers.
On the other hand, Eternal, Tata Steel, Trent, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Hindustan Unilever ended with losses.
Broader indices also traded positively, with the BSE Smallcap Select Index rising by 0.49 percent, and the Midcap Select Index gaining by 0.26 percent.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, "Domestic markets traded in a range-bound manner. The IT sector, after a sharp correction, witnessed selective buying, aided by announcements of strategic collaborations with global AI partners."
Among sectoral indices, PSU Bank rose by 2.36 percent, followed by IT by 1.15 percent, Industrials by 1.13 percent, Services by 0.98 percent, Focused IT by 0.94 percent, FMCG by 0.87 percent, Consumer Durables by 0.85 percent, and Capital Goods by 0.76 percent.
On the other hand, Metal, Commodities, Energy, and Realty were the only underperformers.
A total of 2,447 stocks advanced, while 1,756 declined and 149 remained unchanged.
The market capitalization of BSE-listed firms increased by Rs 1,52,688.24 crore to Rs 4,70,11,313.57 crore (USD 5.18 trillion).
"IT stocks continued their gains for the second consecutive day after the recent sharp correction. The sentiment in the sector improved after Infosys announced a strategic partnership with Anthropic, easing concerns around AI-led disruption."
"Defence stocks gained 1.3 per cent ahead of the meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as expectations rose around potential discussions on the acquisition of additional Rafale fighter jets," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
On the downside, metal stocks came under pressure, tracking weakness in precious metal prices, dragging the Nifty Metal index down by 1 percent. Overall, we expect markets to remain firm with a positive bias, tracking global cues and developments on the domestic sectoral front," he added.
According to Bajaj Broking, Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for the second straight day on Tuesday, closing in positive territory despite subdued global cues. Market participants adopted a watchful stance, awaiting clearer signals from the Federal Reserve, upcoming macroeconomic data releases, and further developments surrounding US-Iran discussions, while maintaining a cautiously optimistic outlook.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled 0.47 percent lower, while markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
European markets are trading higher in mid-session deals. The US equities market remained shut on Monday on account of Presidents' Day.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 972.13 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 1,666.98 crore, according to the exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.79 percent to USD 68.13 per barrel.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 650.39 points to close at 83,277.15, while the NSE Nifty advanced 211.65 points to settle at 25,682.75.
