Sensex, Nifty gain for third straight session led by Bharti Airtel, ITC

The Indian equity benchmarks rose for third straight session on Tuesday tracking a rebound in global markets as risk sentiment improved on easing fears of an escalation in the Middle East conflict. Bharti Airtel, ITC, Infosys, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were among the top movers in the Sensex. The Sensex rose as much as 411 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 22,447.55 before paring some gains.

The Sensex ended 90 points higher at 73,738.45 and Nifty 50 index advanced 32 points to close at 22,368.

Emerging market stocks extended gains for their second straight session on Tuesday. The MSCI index for emerging market shares advanced 0.7 per cent, tracking a global recovery after last week's rout as markets priced out some geopolitical risk related to the Middle East.

Back home, eleven of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Realty index's 2.6 per cent gain. FMCG, auto, IT, media and consumer durable shares also witnessed buying interest.

On the other hand, metal, pharma, healthcare and oil & gas shares witnessed selling pressure.

Broader markets also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1.06 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 1.23 per cent.

Grasim Industries was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4 per cent to close at Rs 2,369. Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, HCL Technologies, NTPC and Asian Paints also rose between 1-3.8 per cent.

On the flipside, Sun Pharma, Bharat Petroleum, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals and HDFC Life were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,338 shares ended higher while 1,475 closed lower on the BSE.

(With Reuters inputs)