Sensex Jumps Over 400 Points, Nifty Crosses 10,700

Domestic stock markets were on track to snap their longest losing streak of 2019 amid buying across sectors and gains in Asian peers. The Sensex rose over 400 points to 35,797 in morning trade, while the Nifty touched 10,742, up 138 points from the previous close. Advances in banking, energy and metal stocks led the markets higher. At 3:16 pm, the Sensex traded 401 points higher at 35,754 and the Nifty rose 133 points to 10,737.

Top gainers on the Nifty at the time were Vedanta, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, BPCL and HPCL, trading between 2 per cent and 3.1 per cent higher.

Equities in other Asian markets registered mild gains after US-China trade talks resumed. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that trade talks with China were going well and suggested he was open to pushing off the deadline to complete negotiations, saying March 1 was not a "magical" date.

However, investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve for clues on policymakers' thinking on interest rates and its balance sheet reduction policy.

The Sensex has closed lower for nine sessions in a row, its longest losing streak in nearly eight years. The Nifty has declined for eight straight days.

(With agency inputs)