FINAL TRADE: Sensex closes 483 points higher; Nifty settles at 21,743.5; Coal India and UPL gain over 4%

Stock market today: The domestic equity market on Tuesday (February 13) settled higher amid heavy buying in banking and financial services counters after reports surfaced that India has narrowed the gap with China in MSCI's Global Standard index, which tracks emerging market stocks, after the latest revision.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.68 per cent, or 482.7 points, higher at 71,555.19, and the NSE Nifty rose 0.59 per cent or 127.2 points, to settle at 21,743.25.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 39 advanced, with Coal India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, UPL, and HDFC Life being the top gainers, rising between 2.06 per cent and 4.67 per cent. Conversely, Hindalco, Grasim, Divi's Laboratories, UltraTech Cement, and BPCL were the top laggards, slipping between 0.99 per cent and 12.53 per cent. 

Meanwhile, among the Sensex constituents, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Wipro were the top winners. 

"The domestic market largely recovered from yesterday's losses, driven by gains in the banking sector. Improved sentiment stemmed from a decline in domestic inflation, which is expected to boost rural demand. Despite this, broader markets continued to underperform compared to frontline indices due to high valuations. However, investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data, anticipating a moderation pivotal for the Fed's interest rate trajectory," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 closed in positive territory. Nifty Bank was up 1.38 per cent at 45,502.4. 

GLOBAL MARKETS

European benchmarks slipped and Asian shares mostly finished higher on Tuesday as investors awaited an update on U.S. consumer inflation that might help set the Federal Reserve’s policy on interest rates. France's CAC 40 slipped nearly 0.2 per cent to 7,678.07. Germany's DAX shed 0.3 per cent to 16,982.64.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent to 7,562.00. The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 per cent lower. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.9 per cent to finish at 37,963.97, briefly topping 38,000 for the first time in 34 years.

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