A gaining rally continued in Indian equity markets for the third straight session on Tuesday, driven by firm global cues and optimism over India-U.S. trade agreement. After a positive start, indices kept their heads in green till the end of the session, as a strong resurgence in FII inflows, coupled with rupee appreciation, bolstered the investor sentiment. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 2,254.64 crore on February 9. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Piyush Goyal calls export councils meet following US, EU trade developments: After India clinch deals with the United States (US) and European Union (EU) bloc, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils and industry associations on February 11. 

Appreciation in rupee: Indian rupee has shown mild strength against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as dollar weakened in the overseas market ahead of release of US jobs and inflation data that may offer clues on the Federal Reserve's policy direction.

Steel stocks in watch: The government of India has taken a decisive step towards building a resilient and globally competitive speciality steel ecosystem with the launch of the third round of the PLI Scheme (PLI 1.2) for Speciality Steel, aimed at 8.7 million tonnes of capacity addition of the upgraded alloy steel. 

Firm global cues: European markets were trading mostly in green, as a survey conducted by the behavioral research institute Sentix showed that eurozone investor confidence strengthened significantly in February, reaching a seven-month high. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday following positive cues from the US markets overnight. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 208.17 points or 0.25% to 84,273.92 and the CNX Nifty was up by 67.85 points or 0.26% to 25,935.15.    

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 84,482.95 and 84,063.47 respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.35%, Consumer Disc up by 1.16%, Metal up by 0.83%, Industrials up by 0.69% and Utilities up by 0.62%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.20%, Bankex down by 0.18%, TECK down by 0.11% and Capital Goods down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 5.19%, Tata Steel up by 2.89%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.79%, Power Grid up by 1.69% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.43%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 1.86%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.80%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.36%, Asian Paints down by 0.94% and HDFC Bank down by 0.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has assessed the Union Budget 2026-27 as supportive of the education sector, citing increased budgetary allocation and policy measures focused on creativity, technology adoption and research in higher education. 

In a report titled ‘FY27 Education Budget: Spotlight on Employment, Upskilling, and Allied Healthcare & Medical Education’, Ind-Ra said that these steps are expected to support upskilling, employability and achievement of higher overall academic standards in the near-to-medium term.

The rating agency further noted that a higher budgetary allocation for the school and higher education sector in FY27 than FY26 revised estimate (RE), will facilitate the expansion of infrastructure in educational institutions, improve the quality of schooling and enhance access to creative programs in designing and animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector, and advanced and digital-based learning.

Meanwhile, for higher education, the overall budget allocation in FY 2026-27 is Rs 55727.22 crore out of which scheme allocation is Rs 10142.40 crore and non-Scheme allocation is Rs 45584.82 crore. Besides, the budget allocation for the FY 2026-27 of Rs 83562 crore is the highest ever for the Department of School Education & Literacy.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,989.45 and 25,870.45 respectively. There were 29 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 5.18%, Tata Steel up by 2.98%, ONGC up by 2.08%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.92% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.83%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 1.80%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.79%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.53%, Shriram Finance down by 1.33% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.32% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 30.82 points or 0.37% to 8,354.10 and Germany’s DAX surged 76.13 points or 0.30% to 25,091.00, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 21.58 points or 0.20% to 10,365.05.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight as technology shares continued a rebound on easing AI spending concerns. Japanese shares reached historic record highs, buoyed by expectations that PM Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory will allow her to push through higher spending and more aggressive fiscal policies. Kospi finished marginally higher ahead of US retail sales, jobs and inflation data this week that may offer clues on the Federal Reserve's policy direction. Hong Kong market gained amid strong performance in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, while Chinese shares marginally rose even as trading gradually thinned ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday.