Markets settle marginally higher ahead of Budget

Equity benchmarks ended with marginal gains on Tuesday as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the Union Budget presentation and the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

Fag-end buying helped the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex settle with a gain of 49.49 points or 0.08 per cent at 59,549.90.

During the day, the benchmark hit a high of 59,787.63 and a low of 59,104.59.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 13.20 points or 0.07 per cent to close at 17,662.15.

From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, State Bank of India, ITC, Titan, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were among the major winners.

Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and HDFC were among the major laggards.

"The Indian market has been underperforming compared to the rest of the world because it has been trading at premium valuations, which are in contrast to the moderation forecast in the domestic economy for FY24.

"The premiumisation has tapered, currently trading in-line with developed markets like the US; however, we continue to trade at a premium to other emerging markets.

"The Adani saga has prolonged the correction as FII selling has increased.

"Now the focus is on the outcome of the Budget and Fed policy, on which the market has a mixed view," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Equities in Europe were trading in the red during mid-session deals. Markets in the US had ended in the negative territory on Monday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.18 per cent to $83.90 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 6,792.80 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.