The domestic stock market ended in the green for the third straight session on Tuesday, led by gains in HDFC Bank, and information technology (IT) stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled 113 points, or 0.28 per cent higher at 40,544 levels and the Nifty50 gained 24 points, or 0.2 per cent at 11,897 levels. India Vix rallied 4 per cent to 22.69 levels.
HCL Tech (up 4 per cent), Tech Mahindra (up 3 per cent), and Asian Paints (up over 2 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers while ONGC, Power Grid, and NTPC were the top drags.
Among Nifty sectoral indices, Nifty IT gained nearly 1.5 per cent while Nifty PSU Bank slipped around 1.5 per cent.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.47 per cent higher at 14,775 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,896, up 0.3 per cent.
The market breadth was tilted towards bulls as out of 2,849 companies being traded on the BSE, 1,373 advanced, 1,316 declined while 160 remained unchanged.
In the earnings corner, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Tuesday reported an 8.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its net profit at Rs 2,009 crore for the second quarter of the current fiscal year (Q2FY21). The company had logged a profit of Rs 1,848 crore in the year-ago period. On a sequential basis, numbers grew 6.8 per cent.
Now, let's take a look at the global markets.
European stocks recovered after a shaky start, following a bearish Asian session where investors adjusted their risk exposure before the US elections two weeks away. Record Covid-19 cases in Europe also weighed on sentiment.
MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, slipped as much as 0.2 per cent.
In commodities, gold edged down while oil prices were little changed after three days of declines on fears that a resurgence of Covid-19 infections would stifle the recovery in fuel demand.
 "Market Wrap, Oct 20: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
