Key indices logged strong gains in a steady session of trade led by gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 464.77 points or 1.3% at 36,318.33, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index was up 149.20 points or 1.39% at 10,886.80, as per the provisional closing data. Gains were triggered on hopes of interest rate cut by RBI after latest data revealed that retail inflation as dropped sharply in December. Positive global stocks also boosted sentiment.

The Sensex settled above the psychological 36,000 level after regaining that level in early trade. Domestic stocks opened on a firm note on positive Asian stocks. Key indices were trading firm in morning trade. Strong buying demand in index pivotals pushed the key benchmark indices higher in early afternoon trade. Key indices extended gains in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.58%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.7%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1557 shares rose and 1009 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 3.07% to Rs 1,130.10.

Index heavyweight and IT major Infosys advanced 3.87% to Rs 728

Wipro surged 5.52% after the company announced that its board will consider bonus issue of shares in its meeting on 17-18 January 2019. The decision of the board of directors will be informed to the stock exchanges on the evening of 18 January 2019. The company is also slated to announce its third-quarter earnings on 18 January 2019. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 January 2019.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) advanced 2.78%. TCS has launched the TCS Connected lntelligence Data Lake for Business on AWS Marketplace. The newly launched software captures and manages all types of data in a central Hadoop repository from where business users can pull elements using a simple drag and drop interface to quickly generate analytics and gain insights to solve business challenges. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 15 January 2019.

Yes Bank rose 4.02% on reports Deutsche Bank's India CEO Ravneet Singh Gill is the frontrunner in a race for the chief executive's post at Yes Bank. Gill and Yes Bank CFO Rajat Monga were the two recommended by the board of the bank for the position to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week, reports added. Yes Bank has been on the hunt for a new CEO since founder Rana Kapoor was denied another three-year term in September last year by the RBI. The bank has until 31 January 2019 to find a replacement.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.59%. L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T, in consortium with Subsea 7 has won award for two projects from Saudi Aramco. The award consists of engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of three oil production deck manifolds and subsea pipelines in Zuluf and Berri Fields of Saudi Aramco. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 15 January 2019.

ICICI Bank fell 0.01%. ICICI Bank announced that its board appointed B. Sriram and Rama Bijapurkar as additional (independent) directors of the bank with effect from 14 January 2019 for a period of 5 years, subject to the approval of shareholders. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 January 2019.

On the macro front, the all-India general CPI inflation eased to 2.19% in December 2018 (new base 2012=100), compared with 2.33% in November 2018. The corresponding provisional inflation rate for rural area was 1.65% and urban area 2.91% in December 2018 as against 1.71% and 3.12% in November 2018. The core CPI inflation was flat at 5.73% in December 2018 compared with 5.70% in November 2018. The data was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 January 2019.

Overseas, European stocks traded higher Tuesday morning, with market participants braced for a showdown in Westminster over the UK government's Brexit plan.

Market focus is largely attuned to an all-important vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's much-maligned Brexit deal on Tuesday. UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said Sunday the Labor Party would push for a general election if Parliament rejects May's deal, and that he might force a vote of no-confidence soon.

Asian stocks rose after China signalled more stimulus measures to soften the blow from an ongoing tariff war with the United States.

US stocks closed lower Monday as weaker-than-expected China trade data sparked fresh fears of a global economic slowdown. Corporate results were also in the spotlight as fourth-quarter earnings season got under way.