Sensex inched higher by 55 points tracking gains in index heavyweights HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance and Infosys amid sustained foreign fund outflows, while Nifty rose by 24.05 points, in early trade on Tuesday.

The rate of rise in Covid-19 numbers continued to slow down across the different parameters in the last 24 hours, according to the Union government bulletin on Tuesday morning.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 0.10 per cent higher at 52,935.46 in initial deals, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 0.15 per cent to 15,858.40. UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 0.69 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank, Maruti, Tata Steel, Titan and Bajaj Auto, HDFC, M&M, L&T and Bajaj Finance. Infosys was up 0.06 per cent in early deals. Sun Pharma, TCS, HUL, and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE Sensex closed 395.33 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 52,880. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 112.15 points or 0.71 per cent to 15,834.35.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 338.43 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange data.

“Domestic equities look to be muted as of now. Notably, sharp rise in crude prices and strengthening dollar index weighed on sentiments in the last couple of days. Further, expectations of further rise in crude prices with no agreement on ease of production in the OPEC meeting can weigh on sentiments further,” said Binod Modi, head of strategy at Reliance Securities. However, we continue to believe any meaningful correction in the market should be offering opportunity to investors to get in quality stocks, Modi said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul and Tokyo gained, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Brent crude surged 0.32 per cent to USD 77.41 per barrel.