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The benchmark BSE Sensex ended higher by over 200 points on investor optimism about March quarter earnings despite weak global cues.
Stock brokers said optimistic buying ahead of industrial production (IIP) data for February and retail inflation for March tomorrow halted the three-session falling streak.
Hopes of good show by IT major Infosys for the March quarter, due on Thursday, also boosted the domestic sentiment.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 212.61 points or 0.72 per cent at 29,788.35 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed up 55.55 points or 0.61 per cent at 9,237.
Barring metal, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the positive zone. Among them, FMCG index gained the most by 1.56 per cent, followed by capital goods 1.48 per cent, PSU 1.45 per cent and infrastructure 1.42 per cent, while metal index was down 1.56 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were ITC (+3.16%), Power Grid (+2.23%), ICICI Bank (+1.89%), L&T (+1.8%) and State Bank of India (+1.63%), while the major losers were Adani Ports (-4.78%), Cipla (-1.66%), Tata Steel (-1.44%), Bajaj Auto (-0.54%) and Reliance (-0.5%).
Earnings are shaping as critical for investors to ascertain whether the double-digit rise in the shares' value can be sustained. The broader NSE index has risen about 12.7 per cent so far this year, touching a record high of 9,273.90 last week.
Meanwhile, analysts expect shares to trade in a narrow range. Infosys Ltd, the country's second-largest software services company, is due to report results on Thursday, unofficially kicking off the reporting season for major companies.
“Market will remain in this range of 9,000-9,250 points on Nifty, watching out for earnings,” said Rakesh Tarway, head of research, Reliance Securities Ltd.
Asian markets
Asian stocks fell in choppy trade on Tuesday as the political tinderbox in West Asia and the Korean Peninsula added to uncertainty over the looming French vote, pushing edgy investors into safer assets such as the yen and Treasuries.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between gains and losses and was last down 0.4 per cent.
US stocks ended a choppy session slightly higher on Monday as gains in energy shares offset losses in financials ahead of quarterly corporate earnings later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.92 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 20,658.02, the S&P 500 gained 1.62 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 2,357.16 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.11 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 5,880.93.
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