Indian Stocks, Rupee Up On Mixed Global Cues

Amid the mixed global cues, Indian markets opened on a positive note Tuesday morning.

The positive sentiments from other Asian markets, which were trading steady following reports of widening of China's trade surplus and European Union finance ministers' decision to grant €30 billion to Spain also helped the Indian markets extend their gains.

At 12:30 pm (local time) Tuesday, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex was trading with gains at 17,500.65, up by 108.67 points or 0.62 percent, while the National Stock Exchange's Nifty was trading at 5,308.75, up by 33.60 points or 0.64 percent from the previous close Monday.

CNX Midcap index was up 0.9 percent and BSE Smallcap index was up 0.6 percent. The market breadth is positive with 918 shares advancing against 446 shares declining on the NSE.

All the largecaps are holding on to their gains, with fresh buying interests from retail investors and funds as companies are expected to report the first quarter earnings in the coming days.

Capital goods and auto segments pulled the BSE Sensex up with 1.28 percent gains followed by the bank stocks index which was up 0.92 percent. Except the FMCG sector, which is trading flat, all other indices are trading in the green.

Other Asian markets were also trading in the green. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.28 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.19 percent in early trading Monday.

The Indian rupee was up on Tuesday morning trade. At 11.30 am, the partially convertible rupee was at 55.73/75 against the dollar. It was 55.92/93 against the dollar at close Monday. The rupee gained from heavy selling by exporters, Reuters reported citing the forex dealers.

However, the rupee, which is highly influenced by the global risk factors, might not gain further, as heavy demand for the dollar and the weakening of the euro may weigh down the currency, according to the dealers.

The rupee Monday dropped to its one-week low following weakness in the euro which touched a two-year low against the dollar.