Domestic benchmarks ended in positive territory on Tuesday, propped up by financial stocks amid firm global cues. After a choppy session, the S&P BSE Sensex on ended 44.80 points or 0.12 per cent higher at 38,843.88 levels while NSE Nifty inched up 5.80 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 11,472.25 levels.

According to the traders, lack of buying triggers and profit-booking in index heavyweight Reliance Industries capped the gains for the benchmarks.

The BSE gainers chart was ruled by Bajaj Finance (up by 4.39 per cent), followed by SBI, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, Tata Steel, L&T, Infosys and Bajaj Auto were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.61 per cent.

BSE bankex, finance, industrials, auto and consumer durables indices rose up to 1.23 per cent, while realty, utilities, FMCG, metal and IT closed with losses.

Global markets were largely positive after the US and China affirmed their commitment to a phase-1 trade deal.

“Indian markets exhibited characteristic volatility, trading undecidedly, before ending flat with a slight positive bias. This was in spite of positive global cues after the US and China reaffirmed their commitment to a previous trade deal and also due to progress in virus vaccine development. In the Indian markets this positivity was offset by losses in index blue-chips. The markets are trading uncertain due to lack of domestic triggers. Investors are advised to remain cautious and keep booking profits whenever possible,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Similar to the benchmarks, broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose up to 0.51 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India said it will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore in two equal tranches.

In rest of Asia, stock markets in Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai and Hong Kong finished in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.39 per cent higher at USD 45.82 per barrel.

In the forex market, the Indian rupee ended on a flat note at 74.33 against the US dollar.