Stocks rose for a second session on Tuesday as traders positioned themselves for the end of the monthly expiry of derivatives contracts. Investors bought into select blue chips and there was a mild bit of green across the board as the seeds of a pre-budget rally were sown in the market.

India's annual budget for the year to March 2018 has been advanced by nearly a month to February 1st. Traditionally, stocks have rallied ahead of the budget in anticipation of tax breaks, lower duties and a better business environment for companies. And it is this climb that is reflected in markets consolidating near 2-month highs.

Traders are also grappling with an early expiry of monthly derivatives contracts on Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday as its a national holiday on account of Republic Day.

The Nifty rose 48 points to trade at 8,440 points, its day's high. All indices gained ground except for minor losses on the FMCG and software benchmarks.

Here is a snapshot of Tuesday's trade so far:

* The Sensex rose 128 points to 27,245 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Coal India was the top gainer while Hindustan Unilever, post earnings, slumped the most. ICICI Bank was the top traded stock by value on the Sensex.

* Coal India, BHEL, Idea Cellular, Adani Ports and HDFC rose between 1.5-2.2 per cent. They were among 42 gainers on the Nifty.

* Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, HCL Tech and TCS fell between 0.2-1.7% and were among 9 losers on the Nifty.

* Ajanta Pharma, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank were the top three traded stocks by value on the National Stock Exchange.

* JP Associates, Suzlon and ICICI Bank saw frenetic volume trade.

* All wider benchmarks were in the green as the bulls remained firmly in command of sentiment on Dalal Street. The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices rose 0.5-0.6 per cent each. Similar gains were seen on the Mid cap and small cap stocks.

* Modest to strong gains were witnessed in the sectoral space with the pharma, auto and metals benchmarks rising the most. The four banking indices, too, inched higher.

* The mood was intensely bullish in the broader market with 1,054 shares rising compared with 489 that fell.