Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 29 (ANI): Indian stock markets edged higher, gaining over half a per cent in the trading session on Tuesday in a breather from the recent decline.

At the end of the trading today, BSE Sensex was up 446.93 points or 0.55 per cent at 81,337.95, and the Nifty 50 at National Stock Exchange was up 140.20 points or 0.57 per cent at 24,821.10.

According to the market analysts, buying in heavyweights like Reliance Industries, L&T, HDFC Bank, and Bharti Airtel lifted the stock markets today.

Adani Ports was another notable gainer. On the flip side, TCS, M&M, Axis Bank, and SBI Life saw some profit booking.All major sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green, underscoring broad-based participation. Nifty Realty and Nifty Pharma stood out as the top-performing sectors.

'The mood remains cautiously optimistic. Eyes are now on global cues, upcoming central bank commentary, and domestic earnings. Technically, a move above 24,800 could spark further upside, while 24,550 remains a key support,' said Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory, PL Capital.

Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research, SBI Securities said that the benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, witnessed heightened volatility, largely due to the weekly expiry of the Sensex derivatives.

The Nifty opened with a gap down but quickly rebounded after taking support near its 100-day EMA. It touched an intraday high of 24727, but faced another round of selling pressure.

However, after taking support near the day's low, the index staged a sharp recovery and eventually closed above the 24800 mark, snapping its three-day losing streak.

The performance of the broader market was even more impressive. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices delivered robust gains of 0.81 per cent and 1.03 per cent, respectively, significantly outperforming the frontline indices. The advance/decline ratio further validated the strength of the rally, with a clear tilt in favour of the bulls. Within the Nifty 500 universe, 360 stocks closed in positive territory, indicating widespread buying interest across sectors and market capitalizations. (ANI)