Mumbai, February 17 The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, declined in the early trading session on Tuesday, but buying in blue-chip stocks Infosys and ITC helped the markets recover the lost ground.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 289.72 points to 82,987.43 in the early trading. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 112.45 points to 25,570.30.
Later, both benchmark indices rebounded and were trading in positive territory. The BSE benchmark quoted 116.08 points higher at 83,393.23, and the Nifty traded 12.90 points up at 25,695.65.
Among the Sensex constituents, Infosys, ITC, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services, IndiGo, Sun Pharmaceuticals, and Larsen & Toubro were the major gainers.
On the other hand, Eternal, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra were the laggards.
In Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 index of Japan traded nearly 1 per cent lower. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The US equity market also remained closed on Monday due to 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 exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell by 0.41 per cent to USD 68.37 per barrel.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped by 650.39 points to close at 83,277.15, while the NSE Nifty advanced by 211.65 points to settle at 25,682.75.
