New Delhi, May 19 (H.S.): Amid the continuing crisis in West Asia, the domestic stock market opened in positive territory on Tuesday, the second trading session of the week. Both benchmark indices witnessed gains in early trading, with the Sensex rising by nearly 295 points and the Nifty advancing over 83 points.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, was trading at 75,609.83 in early trade, registering a gain of 294.79 points or 0.39 percent. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange Nifty climbed 82.60 points, or 0.35 percent, to trade at the 23,760 level.

Out of the 30 constituent companies of the Sensex, shares of 20 companies opened with gains, while nine stocks traded in the red. Shares of Hindustan Unilever remained unchanged during the opening session.

On the Nifty index, 33 out of 50 constituent companies were trading with gains, while the remaining 17 stocks opened lower.

During early trading hours, the Nifty IT index witnessed the highest buying activity, whereas the Nifty Private Bank index recorded the most significant selling pressure.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened against the U.S. dollar in early trade. The domestic currency was trading 18 paise lower at 96.38 against the American dollar.

It is noteworthy that on Monday, both the Sensex and the Nifty had closed with marginal gains. The Sensex ended the previous session higher by 77.05 points at 75,315.04, while the Nifty closed 6.45 points higher at 23,649.95.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar