Sensex surges over 400 pts; Nifty reclaims 12,100

Market benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in opening session on Tuesday led by gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank amid a positive start to global equities.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 405.61 points or 0.99 per cent higher at 41,385.23, and the broader NSE advanced 123.10 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 12,154.60.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 162.23 points, or 0.39 per cent, down at 40,979.62, and the Nifty slipped 66.85 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 12,031.50.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 184.58 crore, while domestic institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 735.79 crore on Monday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

Tata Steel, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, SBI, IndusInd Bank, ITC and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers in the Sensex pack.

On the other hand, TCS was the only stock trading in the red.

According to traders, domestic stocks followed global equities, which rallied despite despite concerns over coronavirus impact on world economy.

The death toll in China due to the novel coronavirus epidemic has crossed 1,000, while the confirmed cases have gone over 42,000, health officials announced on Tuesday.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading on a positive note. Financial markets in Japan are closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street closed with significant gains on Monday.

Domestic market participants are also tracking Delhi poll results, traders said.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 4 paise against the US dollar to 71.23 in morning session.

Global crude benchmark Brent rallied 1.39 per cent to USD 54.01 per barrel.