Sensex closes in green for fourth season in a row amid global rally

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex closed in the green for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, propelled by index heavyweights HDFC twins and Reliance, amid robust gains in global equities.

A strengthening rupee, encouraging quarterly results and persistent foreign fund inflows further bolstered market sentiment, traders said.

After touching a high of 38,556.27, the 30-share BSE Sensex pared some gains to end 224.93 points or 0.59 per cent higher at 38,407.01.

The NSE Nifty jumped 52.35 points or 0.46 per cent to finish at 11,322.50. The Nifty has extended its winning run to six sessions.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 3.96 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, ITC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries.

HDFC twins and RIL accounted for over half of the Sensex's gains.

On the other hand, Titan, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and ONGC were among the laggards, dropping up to 3.73 per cent.

Global markets surged to over five-month highs as investors looked forward to an agreement on a US stimulus package.

Market participants also cautiously weighed the news of Russia becoming the first country to officially register a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. BSE metal, bankex, finance, oil and gas, energy and FMCG indices gained up to 1.50 per cent, while telecom, healthcare, consumer durables and realty indices closed lower. Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices fell up to 0.23 per cent.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai closed in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading significantly higher in early deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.73 per cent higher at $45.32 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee appreciated 12 paise to close at 74.78 against the US dollar.