Sensex rises 50 points, Nifty tops 11,950 on firm global cues

NEW DELHI: Domestic equity market edged higher in opening trade on Tuesday on positive global cues.

Foreign and domestic investors selling equities on Monday didn’t perturb traders as the benchmark indices gained for the eighth straight day.

BSE flagship Sensex was up 48 points at 40,350 while NSE barometer Nifty added 9 points to 11,950. Broader market also traded in tandem with their headline peers as Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap each inched 0.12 per cent higher.

YES Bank was the biggest index gainer on both Nifty50 and Sensex. The stock traded 5 per cent higher at Rs 69.10 on BSE after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought 0.5 per cent in the lender for Rs 87 crore on Monday.

IT bellwether TCS and Infosys were the biggest losers in the 30-share Sensex, each down nearly 1 per cent.

NSE’s sectoral matrix was mixed as nearly half of them traded in the red. Nifty Media was the biggest loser, shedding 0.5 per cent, largely dragged by losses in Zee Entertainment. The broadcaster was down 1.3 per cent at Rs 292. Nifty Auto was the biggest sectoral gainer thanks to Bharat Forge that gained 3.33 per cent to Rs 476 and TVS Motor that advanced 2 per cent to 464.70.

On the global front, Asian shares approached their July peak on signs the United States and China are inching closer to a truce in their trade war and on optimism the US economy is poised for solid, consumer-driven growth.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.1 per cent after hitting a four-month high the previous day.

China's mainland shares were little changed while Japan's Nikkei rose 1.34 per cent to one-year high after a market holiday on Monday.