MARKET WRAP: Sensex zooms 237 pts, Nifty holds 12,100; metals gain

Benchmark equities reversed losses of the previous two sessions and marched ahead Tuesday as investors comforted from the decline in the rate of newly reported cases of Coronavirus in China. Broad-based buying across sectors lifted the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex to 41,216 level, up 237 points or 0.58 per cent. NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, and IndusInd Bank, up in the range of 1.6 and 3 per cent, settled the day as the top gainers on the 30-share index. On the flipside, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, M&M, and TCS were the top laggards.

On the NSE, the broader 50-share index managed to hold the 12,100-mark and closed at 12,108 level, up 76 points or 0.63 per cent.

In the intra-day deals, the Sensex and Nifty50 hit a high of 41,444.34 and 12,172.30 level, respectively.

On the sectoral front, only Nifty FMCG index slipped into the red at close, down 0.3 per cent. On the upside, Nifty Bank, Pharma, Metal, and Private Bank indices added 0.8 per cent each.

The broader market counters, however, underperformed today. The S&P BSE mid-cap index closed 0.35 per cent higher at 15,836 level, meanwhile the S&P BSE small-cap index slipped 0.19 per cent to close at 14,748 level.

GLOBAL MARKETS

European shares rose to a record high early Tuesday as a slowdown in the rate of new infections in the coronavirus outbreak provided some relief, although markets still worried over the wider global economic impact. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose as much as 0.7 per cent to a record high of 427.46.

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9 per cent, with Shanghai blue chips ahead by 0.8 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday, although Nikkei futures traded 0.8 per cent firmer. Futures for the EUROSTOXX 50 rose 0.7 per cent and the FTSE 0.5 per cent.
 

In commodities, oil prices rose around 1 per cent on Tuesday. Brent crude rose 53 cents, nearly 1 per cent, to $53.80 a barrel, retreating from an intraday high of $54.16. US West Texas Intermediate was up 46 cents, about 1 per cent, at $50.18 a barrel.  

(With inputs from Reuters)