Sensex, Nifty register gains in early trade on positive domestic, global cues; rupee down by 22 paise against dollar

Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended their gains in early trade on Tuesday, tracking positive domestic and global cues. The BSE gauge Sensex opened at 38,988.57 and briefly crossed the psychological 39,000-level in early deals. It, however, slipped slightly and was last quoted at 38,929.48, 57.61 points or 0.15 percent higher. Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty started at 11,711.55 and went on to breach the key 11,700-mark before paring some gains. It was last trading at 11,673.15, up 4 points or 0.034 percent. The 30-share BSE index Monday settled at 38,871.87, showing a rise of 198.96 points, or 0.51 percent. Intra-day, it hit a life-time high of 39,115. Indian equities rally has been fuelled by hopes of an RBI rate cut and positive global sentiment following robust Chinese macroeconomic data and progress in US-China trade talks. Asian bourses followed Wall Street gains on Tuesday amid encouraging global economic sentiment. [caption id=“attachment_5678251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] All benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul advanced. Globally, investors were encouraged by macro indicators that showed manufacturing activity in China improving. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened by 22 paise to trade at 69.36 to the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday owing to increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 898.79 crore Monday, as per provisional data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.23 percent to trade at $67.17 per barrel. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will unveil on Thursday its first bi-monthly monetary policy decision of this new fiscal. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet from 2 to 4 April for the first bi-monthly policy statement for 2019-20.