The Indian stocks opened higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Sensex gaining over 400 points and the Nifty topping 21,650 in early trade. However, Zee Entertainment saw its shares plunge over concerns regarding its failed merger deal with Sony.
The BSE Sensex rose 404 points or 0.6% to 71,828, while the NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 117 points or 0.5% to 21,689. The gains were broad-based, with heavyweight stocks like Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, TCS, and Tech Mahindra rising between 1-2.5%.
On the flip side, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, and IndusInd Bank came under selling pressure. State Bank of India also traded lower.
Zee Entertainment shares crashed 10%, emerging as the top loser on Sensex and Nifty. This came after Sony Pictures Networks announced it had issued a notice to call off its merger deal with Zee due to breaches of a non-compete agreement. Sony is also seeking a termination fee of $90 million from Zee.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma Index rallied 1.6% and the Nifty Bank advanced 0.75%. In contrast, the Nifty Media Index dropped over 3% due to the sharp fall in Zee.
The midcap and smallcap shares also joined the rally, rising around 0.8% each. Market experts said the ongoing quarterly earnings and global cues will dictate market trends this week, even as the focus remains on the Union Budget scheduled on 1st February.
