Sensex Rises for 3rd Day

India's BSE Sensex closed about 0.3% up at 84,273.9 on Tuesday, the highest since early January, marking the third session of advances. Market sentiment was driven by the strong revival in foreign inflows and sustained optimism around the interim India-US trade agreement. Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth 22.55 billion rupees ($248.6 million) on Monday, bringing net purchases in February so far to $1.7 billion, following three consecutive months of selling. On the data front, domestic January inflation is due later this week, with inflation expected to rise to 2.4%, the highest in eight months, though still within the RBI’s 2%–6% target band. On equities, Eternal (+5.1%) and Tata Steel (2.8%) were the standout performers. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (+1.8%) followed closely, amid forecasts of a strong Q3 FY26 performance. On the other hand, HCL Tech (-2%), Bajaj Finance (-1.7%), Bharti Airtel (-1.3%), Adani Ports (-0.9%) and Asian Paints (-0.8%) saw the biggest losses.

The SENSEX Index rose 157 points or 0.19 percent on Tuesday to close at 84223 points. Leading the gains are Eternal Limited (6.23%), Tata Steel (2.92%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (1.87%). Top losers were HCL Tech (-2.12%), Bajaj Finance (-1.83%) and Bharti Airtel (-1.31%).

The BSE Sensex climbed 320 points, or 0.4%, to 84,385 in morning trade on Tuesday, extending gains for a third straight session and hitting its highest level since January 7, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street driven by a rebound in the tech sector. Ongoing foreign inflows continued to support market sentiment following a trade deal with the US. The Nifty 50 also rose 0.4% to near 26,000, while mid-cap stocks gained 0.2%. However, investors were cautious ahead of the release of January domestic inflation data later this week, with inflation expected to rise to 2.4%, the highest in eight months, though still within the RBI’s 2%–6% target band. All sectors traded in positive territory, led by metal stocks, which rose 1.1%, with Tata Steel gaining 2.9%. Meanwhile, tech stocks advanced 0.9%, tracking their Wall Street peers, with Tech Mahindra climbing 2.2% and TCS up 1.3%. Auto stocks also rose 0.9%, supported by gains in Maruti Suzuki (1.4%) and Tata Motors (1.0%).