SENSEX rises 250 pts, NIFTY hovers around 25,900; Muthoot Finance, Manappuram Finance shares drop 

At 9:20 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading at 84,567.28 points, up 267.50 points, or 0.32%. Tech Mahindra (up 2.7%) was the biggest gainer on the index, followed by L&T and Infosys. The top losers were Asian Paints (down over 1.4%) and JSW Steel.

The top gainers on the NSE were Tech Mahindra, M&M, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The top losers on the exchange were IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Nestle (India), and Maruti. 

Barring FMCG and metals, all the sectoral indices were trading in the green. The BSE IT index was trading at 42,688.06 levels, up 0.75%. 

Buzzing Stocks

Tata Power shares were up nearly 1% at ₹486.60 apiece on the BSE after the company on Monday said it has inked an initial pact with the Rajasthan government for investment of ₹1.2 lakh crore, including ₹75,000 crore in green energy, in the state's power sector.

Kalpataru Projects International was trading over 2.6% higher at ₹1,403.95 apiece on the BSE after the company on Monday said it has secured orders worth ₹1,241 crore. The new orders are for the transmission & distribution (T&D) business in India and overseas markets, as well as residential and commercial building projects in the country.

Broader Market

The BSE MidCap index was trading 0.17% higher at 49,436.82 levels, while the BSE SmallCap index was trading 0.35% higher at 57,329.53 points. 

Global Markets

Asian stocks eased near two-and-a-half-year highs on Tuesday, and the US dollar firmed following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that submerged bets of big interest rate cuts, while Mid-East tension kept risk sentiment in check.

Oil prices were steady, and gold traded just below a record high touched last week as investors awaited US labour data for more clarity on the pace of US rate cuts.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.5% in early trading after shedding 4.8% on Monday as investors contended with perceived monetary policy hawk Shigeru Ishiba winning a contest to become the country's prime minister.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 sputtered to a record high close on Monday, rebounding from a brief setback after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is in no hurry to implement further interest rate cuts. The Dow also posted an all-time closing high. The three major US stock indexes registered gains for the quarter and for the month. _ With inputs from Reuters_