Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty advanced nearly half a per cent in early trade on Tuesday following gains in IT and financial stocks amid positive global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 273.27 points or 0.45 per cent to 61,214.94 as 21 of its constituents traded in the green. The barometer opened stronger at 61,122.20 and touched a high of 61,266.06 in morning trade.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange advanced 66.70 points or 0.37 per cent to 18,185.25. It moved in range of 18,156.55 to 18,201.25 in morning deals.

Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahinrda, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC and Maruti were major gainers.

On the other hand, Power Grid, Ultratech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Axis Bank declined.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said, "A significant trend in the global equity market now is the outperformance of the mother market US. Hope of a soft landing for the US economy is increasing and the market is responding to this." The S&P 500 is up by 5.12 per cent in January till date.

"The tech heavy Nasdaq is up by 8.5 per cent and this particularly is good news for Indian IT companies, which are likely to do well now. The positive sentiments are favourable for a pre-budget rally, too," Vijayakumar said.

Asian markets also gained following overnight gains in the US markets. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index added 1.72 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.82 per cent.

In the US, the S&P 500 rose 1.2 per cent, led by tech companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.8 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 2 per cent up.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 219.87 crore, according to exchange data.

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