Sensex trades firm, Nifty hovers around 9,100 on positive global cues

The benchmark indices on Tuesday continued to trade higher as sentiment improved after Asian markets recovered as some of the anxiety about US President Donald Trump's ability to push his agenda subsided.

At 01:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 29,408, up 171 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,099, up 55 points. 

Broader market outperformed with the S&P BSE Midcap index up 0.7%, while S&P BSE Smallcap index gained 0.8%. 

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,539 shares rose and 973 shares fell. A total of 176 shares were unchanged.

Experts believe broader gains are likely to be capped in the near term as India approaches the earnings season starting next month, analysts said.

Global factors will also continue to play a role as many of the recent gains have been predicated on Trump implementing massive stimulus measures to boost the US economy. 

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday briefed lawmakers about the four GST Bills - Central GST, Integrated GST, Union Territory GST and the Compensation Law - introduced in Lok Sabha which will be taken up for consideration on Wednesday.

Jaitley told MPs that the passage of these bills, which were introduced in the Lower House on Monday, will result in one-nation one-tax regime, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the meeting.

Axis Bank rose nearly 3% to Rs 450 after the private sector bank informed the bourses that it has raised senior notes in the international market. The stock was the top Sensex gainer.

Telecom tower company Bharti Infratel surged as much as 3.63% after global private equity investor KKR & Co LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a 10.3% stake in the company for more than Rs 61.9 billion. BSE Telecom index was the leading sectoral gainer with over 1% gain.

Dishman Pharma soared as much as 20% to an all-time high after company's partner Tesaro Inc got the US Food and Drug Administration's nod for an ovarian cancer drug.

Overseas, most Asian stocks rose as investors looked beyond the failure of the Trump administration to replace the Obamacare, aided by improving macroeconomic data out of the US and Europe.