FIRST TRADE: Nifty trades above 18,350, Sensex up 150 points; BPCL rises 1.50%

Stock market today: The equity market opened in the green on May 23, Tuesday. At the time of writing this news, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 62,117.44 levels, up 154 points, or 0.25 per cent while the NSE's Nifty was ruling at 18,361.75, up 47 points, or 0.26 per cent. Power Grid (up 0.68 per cent) was the top gainer on the Sensex, followed by Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra and ICICI Bank were the biggest laggards. Among broad market indices, the S&P BSE MidCap index traded 0.38 per cent higher at 26,441.86 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was quoting at 29,986.48, up 0.39 per cent.

BUZZING STOCKS

Adani Group stocks were trading with decent gains in the trade. For instance, Adani Enterprises jumped 15 per cent to Rs 2,674.35 while Adani Ports traded 6 per cent higher at Rs 773.15. Adani Power and Adani Transmission scrips were up 5 per cent each. Besides, a host of shares reacted to their quarterly results. BPCL was trading nearly 2 per cent higher at Rs 368.60 on the BSE after the company on Monday said its net profit more than doubled in the March quarter on the back of a recovery in fuel marketing margins and better refining margins. The company's standalone net profit at Rs 6,478 crore in the January-March quarter compares to Rs 2,501 crore in the same period a year back, according to a company's stock exchange filing.

Meanwhile, Ashok Leyland was trading flat with a negative bias in the early trade while Biocon was trading 0.33 per cent higher on the BSE. Both companies are slated to announce their March quarter numbers today.

Globally, Asian stocks crept to two-week highs in cautious trade Tuesday, helped by hints of progress toward avoiding a US default and by resilience in Japan's economy, with industrial sector surveys in Europe and the United States in focus later in the day.