New Delhi, 10 March (H.S.): Indian equities opened firmly Tuesday but surrendered peaks to profit-taking, with the Sensex and Nifty clinging to modest 0.29% advances by 10 a.m. after intraday swings tied to receding Iran war fears.The BSE Sensex debuted at 78,375.73, up 809.57 points, climbing to 78,526.25 before slumping to 77,745.47 within the first half-hour; it stabilized at 77,791.17, a 225.01-point or 0.29% gain.

The NSE Nifty mirrored the chop, opening at 24,280.80 (up 252.75 points), peaking at 24,303.80, dipping to 24,079.95, and settling at 24,097.25, ahead 69.20 points or 0.29%.

Gainers included InterGlobe Aviation, Shriram Finance, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, and Mahindra & Mahindra (1.55-3.11% up), while ONGC, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, and Hindalco lagged 0.96-1.74%. Of 2,696 active stocks, 2,185 traded green versus 511 red; Sensex's 30 saw 20 advancers, Nifty's 50 had 33.

Monday's bloodbath—Sensex down 1.71% at 77,566.16, Nifty 1.73% at 24,028.05—set a low bar, with Tuesday's respite fueled by crude's 6% plunge post-Trump's de-escalation signals, though experts eye near-term volatility.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar