Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 500 points in early trade on Tuesday tracking heightened buying sentiment across the board amid strong cues from global markets as hopes of a Covid-19 vaccine boosted investor confidence.
After hitting a high of 37,923.38, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 462.77 points, or 1.24 percent, higher at 37,881.76. Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 136.35 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 11,158.55.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 3 per cent, followed by Maruti, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Power Grid and HDFC Bank.On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv and ITC were the laggards.
In the previous session, the BSE barometer ended at 37,418.99, up 398.85 points or 1.08 per cent, and the broader Nifty rose 120.50 points or 1.11 per cent to end at 11,022.20.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Monday, purchasing equities worth Rs 17.09 billion, provisional exchange data showed.
Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 18 paise to 74.73 against the US dollar to quote at Dh20.36 in opening trade on Tuesday tracking positive domestic equities and hopes of Covid-19 vaccine.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 74.79 against US dollar, then gained further ground and and touched 74.73 against the US dollar, up 18 paise over its previous close. It had settled at 74.91 against the US dollar on Monday.
Forex traders said positive opening in domestic equities, foreign fund inflows and hopes of Covid-19 vaccine supported the rupee. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 95.87.
