Investors looked past broader worries about the coronavirus pandemic and the world economy
Domestic stock markets registered mild gains in early trade on Tuesday amid a positive trend in global equities, as investors looked past broader worries about the coronavirus pandemic and the world economy. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 0.79 per cent - or 290.8 points - to touch 37,230.40 in the first few minutes of trade, having started the day with a gain of 153.26 points - or 0.41 per cent - at 37,092.86. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 10,972.40, up 80.8 points from its previous close, after opening up 55.05 points at 10,946.65.
At 9:21 am, the Sensex traded 263.52 points - or 0.71 per cent - higher at 37,203.12, while the Nifty was up 75.55 points - or 0.69 per cent - at 10,967.15.
Analysts awaited the Reserve Bank of India's policy statement due later this week for cues. The central bank is scheduled to start a three-day review on Tuesday.
Shares elsewhere in Asia moved higher following overnight gains on Wall Street amid strong US manufacturing data and strength in tech stocks. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.84 per cent higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was up 1.38 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were up 0.09 per cent, 0.89 per cent and 1.07 per cent respectively. Australian stocks jumped 2 per cent for the biggest intraday gain since July 21.
An industry gauge released overnight indicated US manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than a year, helping the Wall Street move higher. However, some investors remain cautious due to worries about a resurgence of the coronavirus and a diplomatic tussle over Chinese tech companies' operations in the US.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last seen trading 0.05 per cent lower, indicating a flat start for Wall Street on Tuesday, a day after the S&P 500 benchmark settled 0.72 per cent higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.89 per and the technology-stocks heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed up 1.47 per cent to register a record closing high.
Microsoft shares jumped 5.6 per cent after the technology major formally declared interest in buying the US operations of TikTok, a video-sharing app owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance.
US President Donald Trump has warned of banning TikTok unless its US operations are sold off from ByteDance. Washington is also preparing to take action against other Chinese software companies that could share user data with Beijing, setting the stage for further conflict.
