On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex curved back above the psychological 19,000 mark in early trade, while the broader Nifty benchmark neared the 5,750 mark while the rupee also gained and traded at 54.78 to the dollar.

On Monday, markets tracked positive global cues. Overnight, the Dow came within 40 points of an all-time high, while Chinese markets rebounded after a sharp sell off.

Moreover, Barring consumer durables, all groups of stocks traded higher. Banking, metal, realty and auto stocks saw strong buying interest after recent correction.

In fact, 39 shares traded higher on the Nifty, led by Tata Motors, which gained 2.8 per cent. Infra major Jaiprakash Associates and private lender ICICI Bank advanced 2-2.5 per cent. Even, realty major DLF and cement stocks - UltraTech and Ambuja - rebounded after sharp sell off over the last few days.

Moreover, State-run Power Grid was the top loser, down 1 per cent, followed by mobile carrier Bharti Airtel, which dipped 0.9 per cent while two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto extended losses on the back of weak sales in February.

(AW:Samrat Biswas)