Equity market benchmark indices trade firm in early trade on continuous buying support from FPIs

Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Stock market benchmark indices climbed in early trade on April 12, extending their rally for the eighth day running, following strength in most of the Asian equity exchanges and continuous foreign fund inflows.

Also, buying in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and Tata Consultancy Services added to the positive trend in the equity market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 92.29 points to 60,250.01 in early deals. The broader NSE Nifty gained 51.35 points to 17,773.65.

Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel were the biggest winners in early trade.

IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, NTPC and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan and Shanghai were trading in the green, while Hong Kong quoted lower. The U.S. markets had ended mostly lower on April 12.

“All eyes will be on CPI inflation and IIP numbers that will trickle in later today, as RBI recently in its policy announcement had refrained from hiking rates. Against the backdrop of recent slump in technology stocks, investors would keenly follow the TCS results to be announced post market hours,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Limited, said.

The Sensex rose 311.21 points or 0.52% to finish at 60,157.72 on Tuesday. The Nifty gained 98.25 points or 0.56% to settle at 17,722.30.

“For equity markets, globally, today’s March U.S. inflation data is crucial since it will determine the Fed response in the May policy meeting. March CPI print in India, too, will be keenly watched,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed marginally by 0.02% to $85.63 per barrel. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) further bought equities worth ₹342.84 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.