Nifty, Sensex recover after slow start in morning trade

• In the last five session, the BSE benchmark has rallied 1,972.72 points or 2.76%.
• HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra were the laggards in Tuesday morning trade.
• IT stocks fell on profit-taking after rallying sharply in the past two sessions.

Benchmark equity indices, the Nifty and the Sensex, recovered in the first hour of trade after a slow start in the morning. The indices have rallied sharply in the past five sessions and morning trade saw profit-taking in IT stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 226.93 points to 73,101.01. The Nifty declined 68.25 points to 22,029.20. At the time of publishing, the benchmarks are flat with a positive bias.

In the last five session, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,972.72 points or 2.76%. The Nifty jumped 584.45 points or 2.71%.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.

IT stocks fell on profit-taking after rallying sharply in the past two sessions.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower.

The US markets were closed on Monday on account of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The Sensex jumped 759.49 points or 1.05% to settle at a new closing high of 73,327.94 on Monday. During the day, it zoomed 833.71 points or 1.14% to reach its all-time peak of 73,402.16. The Nifty climbed 202.90 points or 0.93% to settle at a new closing high of 22,097.45. During the day, it surged 221 points or 1% to reach a lifetime intra-day high of 22,115.55.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18% to USD 78.29 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,085.72 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

(With text input from PTI)