Markets climb as inflation eases; Sensex ends up 328 pts

Equity benchmark indices climbed on Tuesday as retail inflation eased to an 11-month low of 4.83 per cent in April and buying in the country's most valued firm by market valuation Reliance Industries also added to the optimism.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 328.48 points, or 0.45 per cent, to settle at 73,104.61.

During the day, it rallied 510.13 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 73,286.26.

The NSE Nifty went up 113.80 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 22,217.85.

From the Sensex basket, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, and Maruti were the major gainers.

Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, ITC, and Asian Paints were among the laggards.

Retail inflation eased to an 11-month low of 4.83 per cent in April as prices of some kitchen items declined, though overall food basket firmed up marginally, according to government data released on Monday.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled higher while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.17 per cent to $83.22 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,498.92 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.