Markets climb in early trade

MUMBAI: Benchmark indices climbed in early trade on Tuesday amid firm global market trends and as retail inflation dipped below the RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent for the first time in 11 months in November.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 170.1 points to 62,300.67. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 43.7 points to 18,540.85.

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Nestle, HDFC Bank and HDFC were among the winners.

Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel were among the laggards.

In Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the green, while Shanghai quoted lower.

The US markets had ended in the green on Monday.

Retail inflation dipped below the RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent for the first time in 11 months in November as softening prices of food items brought relief.

The BSE benchmark declined 51.10 points or 0.08 per cent to settle at 62,130.57 on Monday. The Nifty ended at 18,497.15, marginally higher by 0.55 points.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.22 per cent to USD 78.94 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 138.81 crore, according to exchange data.