Sensex trades 72 points higher; Tata Motors jumps 2.6%

Mumbai -The 30-share bellwether BSE Sensex on Tuesday was trading higher in mid-day trading session tracking gains in the Asian stock markets.
At 12.04pm, the Sensex was trading up 0.36%, or 72.97 points, at 20,407.24 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty was trading higher 0.31%, or 18.7 points, at 6,072.15 points.
The gainers included Tata Motors Ltd that rose 2.61% to Rs.373.50 and Tata Steel Ltd that jumped 1.61% to Rs.388.65.
Among the losers, Bharti Airtel Ltd lost 1.76% to Rs.302 and Hindalco Industries Ltd fell 1.64% to Rs.105.10.
The BSE IT index rose 1.15% to be the biggest gainer, while the BSE power index was the biggest loser, falling 0.49%.
Normal banking operations were affected across the country on Monday when employees of state-run banks and a few old-generation private sector banks, went on a nationwide two-day strike to push for wage increases.
The government will issue Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for December and consumer price index (CPI) inflation data for January on Wednesday.
Surveys by Bloomberg expect India’s industrial production to contract 1.2% in December after shrinking 2.1% in the previous month. A separate survey by the same agency expect consumer prices to rise 9.11% in January, compared with 9.87% in December.
It will be a results-heavy day. Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd, Fortis Healthcare Ltd, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, HCL Infosystems Ltd, Hidustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, Ingersoll Rand Ltd, JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Opto Circuits Ltd, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd are some of the companies that will release their earnings for the December quarter on Tuesday.
Asian markets are trading higher. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.06%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.86%.
Overnight, US markets closed marginally higher as investors wait to hear the new US Federal Reserve chairperson views on the economy and policy. Janet Yellen, the new chairperson, will give her first testimony later in the day. S&P 500 gained 0.16% to 1,799 on buying in healthcare and utilities stocks. Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.05% and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.54%.