Sensex up 100 points, Nifty opens near 12,100; Tata Steel, Vedanta, Hindalco, Cipla in focus

Mumbai: Indian indices opened on a higher note on Tuesday (December 17) with the Sensex up 90.46 points or 0.22% at 41029.18, and the Nifty up 25.50 points or 0.21% at 12079.50. Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Vedanta, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, and Tech Mahindra are among major gainers on the Indices, while Gail, NTPC, HDC, Nestle, Sun Pharma, and Axis Bank are top losers. As many as 392 shares have advanced, 153 shares declined, while 41 shares remain unchanged. 

Indian rupee, however, opened higher at 70.95 per dollar versus Monday's close of 71.

On Monday, equity benchmark indices ended lower as investors booked profits and remained cautious over a trade agreement between Beijing and Washington. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 71 points lower at 40,939 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 26 points at 12,061. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red except for Nifty IT and realty.

Asian shares rose to their highest in eight months on Tuesday, as trade deal optimism and Wall Street`s streak to all-time highs supported sentiment, while familiar fears of a hard Brexit knocked the pound.

The mood carried MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.4% to its highest since April. Japan`s Nikkei hit its firmest in more than year and Hong Kong`s Hang Seng rose half a percent.

Australia`s S&P/ASX 200 eked a tiny extension to Monday`s big gains. Though bond markets, currencies, and commodities were more circumspect, and futures trade pointed to softness in Europe and the United States after a bumper Monday.

The preliminary deal between Washington and Beijing will double U.S. exports to China, White House adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox News on Monday. The United States will also reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods under the agreement.

It is not yet signed, and the Chinese side has been more circumspect in their praise, but US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said over the weekend it is "totally done".

The three major US stock indexes rose modestly but posted record closing highs. So did the pan-European STOXX 600 index.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 added 0.7% and the Nasdaq almost one percentage point. For the year to date, the Nasdaq has increased its value by a third, while the other indexes are up by more than 20%.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 had its biggest daily gain in almost a year. But after the closing bell some familiar fears returned.

(With Agency Inputs)