Sensex snaps 3-day losing run to settle at 61,418.96

MUMBAI: Indian markets snapped a 3-day losing run as the Sensex gained 274 points to settle at 61,418.96 and Nifty went up 84 points to end at 18,244.20.

Some selling pressure was seen in power and realty stocks during the Tuesday session. The markets started on a sluggish note, however, indices recovered to end with smart gains, mainly aided by a recovery in European markets.

Among the top gainers on BSE, EaseMyTrip, UCO Bank, Mazagon Dock, JP Associates and Garden Reach Shipbuilders gained during the day. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.45 per cent while the S&P BSE Small-Cap Index shed 0.12 per cent.

On the BSE, 1,649 shares rose, and 1,807 shares fell while a total of 152 shares were unchanged. PSU Banks, Metal, and IT stocks were in demand while Realty and Energy shares corrected. "The weakness in the market is likely to continue in the near term.

With the dollar index rebounding to above 108, FIIs may sell again or at least refrain from big buying. There are no positive triggers now that can take the market much higher from the current levels," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Vijayakumar added long-term investors can utilize the weakness in the market to buy high-quality stocks in banking, telecom, capital goods, IT and autos and blue chips across sectors.

On Monday, markets started the week on a feeble note and lost over half a per cent, in continuation to the previous session's fall. After the initial decline, Nifty traded in a narrow band till the end and settled closer to the day's low at 18,159.95 levels.

Most sectoral indices traded in line with the benchmark and ended lower wherein realty, IT and energy were the top losers. "Participants should see the dip as normal profit-taking after the recent surge and we expect the 17,950-18,050 zone to act as immediate support in Nifty.

While we're seeing a mixed trend across sectors, resilience in the banking space is playing a critical role in capping the damage so far," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research at Religare Broking.

Meanwhile, the rupee too opened Tuesday's trade marginally higher at 81.72 against the previous session close of 81.84.