Sensex climbs over 132 points in early session; surrenders gains in volatile trade

Mumbai: Equity indices made a firm start on Tuesday, with the Sensex climbing over 132 points but later pared the initial gains amid volatile trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher and further jumped 132.18 points to 54,420.79 points. The broader NSE Nifty gained 41.15 points to 16,255.85 points.

However, both the benchmark indices later faced volatility and were quoting in the red.

The Sensex traded 91.51 points lower at 54,197.10 points and the Nifty declined 50.20 points to 16,164.50 points.

In the Sensex pack, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Power Grid and Axis Bank were among the major gainers in early deals.

In contrast, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Titan and TCS were among the laggards.

Asian markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo were trading lower.

Stock markets in the US had ended higher on Monday.

"Asian stocks fluctuated whereas Wall Street closed with strong gains amid rally in bank stocks," Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities, said.

The BSE benchmark settled 37.78 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 54,288.61 points on Monday. The NSE Nifty declined 51.45 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 16,214.70 points.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.48 per cent to USD 112.93 per barrel.

Continuing their selling spree, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,951.17 crore on Monday, as per stock exchange data.

"There is no distinct trend in this whipsaw market. Daily trading for the near-term is fraught with high risk," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.