Equity benchmark indices extended their rally in early trade on Tuesday, following optimism in global markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 152.31 points to 74,823.59 in morning deals. The NSE Nifty went up by 52.9 points to 22,696.30.

From the Sensex basket, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies and Nestle were the major gainers.

Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were quoting in the positive territory while Shanghai traded lower.

Wall Street ended with gains on Monday.

"Today, the outlook remains positive with factors like net buying by FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) and DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors), WTI oil slipping below USD 83 a barrel, and anticipation of a pre-election rally. Focus shifts to the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting decision on May 1 and the April jobs report on May 3," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.11 per cent to USD 88.30 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Monday after continuous offloading. They bought equities worth Rs 169.09 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 941.12 points or 1.28 per cent to settle at 74,671.28 on Monday. The NSE Nifty went up by 223.45 points or 1 per cent to 22,643.40.

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