Market wrap: SENSEX jumps 208 points; NIFTY50 closes above 25,900; Eternal and Tata Steel among top gainers

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for a third consecutive session on Tuesday, tracking strong overnight gains on Wall Street. Markets made a positive start and stayed in green terrain throughout the session, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and continued optimism surrounding an interim trade agreement between India and the US.

Sentiments remained upbeat as Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities worth ₹2,254.64 crore on February 9. Market participants took note of report that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils and industry associations on February 11.

Defence stocks were in focus after India and Greece signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on strengthening defence industrial cooperation between the countries, which marks a starting point for developing a five-year roadmap for boosting the partnership.

On the global front, European equity markets were trading mostly in green, ahead to the release of key U.S. retail sales, inflation, and jobs data this week for clues on the Federal Reserve’s future interest-rate trajectory. Asian markets ended higher, lifted by post-election optimism in Japan and a strong rebound in the technology sector.

The SENSEX ended at 84273.92, up by 208.17 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 84063.47 and 84482.95. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 4.99%, Tata Steel up by 2.89%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.85%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.52% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.88%, HCL Technologies down by 1.84%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Asian Paints down by 0.92% and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government of India has taken a decisive step towards building a resilient and globally competitive speciality steel ecosystem with the launch of the third round of the PLI Scheme (PLI 1.2) for Speciality Steel, aimed at 8.7 million tonnes of capacity addition of the upgraded alloy steel. Relatedly, around 85 MoUs were signed between 55 companies, including SAIL's Salem Steel plant and the Steel Ministry, committing ₹13,203 crore worth of investments.

The NIFTY50 ended at 25935.15, up by 67.85 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 25870.45 and 25989.45. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 5.19%, Tata Steel up by 2.92%, ONGC up by 2.08%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.92% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.83%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.06%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.79%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.53%, Shriram Finance down by 1.33% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.32% were the top losers.