The BSE benchmark Sensex today gained nearly 144 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds amid a firming Asian trend.The 30-share barometer rose by 143.57 points, or 0.73 per cent to 19,724.38 with all the sectoral indices, led by realty and metal, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.25 per cent. The index had gained 154.10 in yesterday’s trade.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 41.25 points, or 0.69 per cent per cent, to 5,992.10.Brokers said the sentiment remained strong on sustained inflows from foreign funds into equity market amid a firming trend in the Asian region as US poised to avert fiscal cliff.

Banking sector stocks continued their upward march on expectations of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India. Stocks of Bank of India gained 0.71 per cent, State Bank of India shot up by 1.20 per cent, while ICICI Bank up 0.91 per cent.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 1.18 per cent. The stock market in Japan is closed today. Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange gains 1.5 percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan is up 1.56 percent.Asian stocks started new year with gains after a bill to avert the U.S. “fiscal cliff” cleared a procedural vote in the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin, indicating strong support for final passage in a vote expected later on Tuesday.

India’s central bank said on Tuesday the monetary policy department will directly report to Governor Duvvuri Subbarao till further orders, with Subir Gokarn’s term as a deputy governor coming to a close.
SEBI plans to revise rules on insider trading and front-running in order to synchronize the rules with those set down by the government in the Companies Bill, said a senior official at the market regulator.

The Indian government has imposed 35 percent safeguard duty on electrical insulators imported from China, a move that would help domestic players battling cheap shipments,

Hero MotoCorp Ltd December two wheeler sales rose 0.3 percent to 541,615 units from a year ago.Tata Motors December sales fell 20 percent to 65,582 vehicles from a year earlier. (Reuters)Mercedes-Benz, part of Daimler AG said on Tuesday it will increase prices of all its models in the domestic market by up to three percent effective Jan. 14 to

offset the rising input costs and currency fluctuation.Honda Cars India Ltd, part of Honda Motor Co Ltd reported a nearly four-fold increase in total sales for December 2012 at 4,242 units.