The equity markets bounced back on Tuesday on the back of sustained buying from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and positive global cues from European and the US markets. Equity indices had fallen about 1% on Monday as the 25 basis-point interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank (RBI) hit investor sentiments. FIIs bought equities worth Rs 359 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors sold shares to the tune of Rs 73 crore, according to BSE?s provisional estimates on Tuesday.

In the 15 sessions since the Budget on February 26, FIIs have bought equities worth Rs 15,396 crore, according to Sebi data. Of the BSE 500 companies, 20 firms have hit their 52-week high.

On Monday, the US market, as measured by Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 0.41% to close at 10,785.89, while in Europe, the FTSE 100 Index went up 0.39% at 5,666.52. Asian indices? performance was mixed. Hang Seng Index, Straits Times, Kospi and Jakarta Composite were among the gainers. The indices to lose out were Nikkei 225 and Shanghai Composite Index, which slipped 0.47% and 0.70%, respectively.

Back home, on Tuesday the BSE Sensex rose 0.23% or 40.45 points to 17,451.02, while the 50-share Nifty went up 0.39%, or 20.1 points, to 5225.3. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 14 ended higher while 15 ended in the red. In the broader market, laggards outnumbered winners on the Bombay Stock Exchange with 54.3% or 1,504 scrips ending lower compared with 1266 that ended higher.

?The next market trigger will be the forthcoming result season, which is expected to be good, especially in sectors like auto and IT,? said Kunal Sukhani, manager ?? institutional equities, Asian Markets Securities.

On the global front, some analysts are worried about the economic climate in the UK. ?The economic situation in the UK has changed dramatically and may warrant a negative rating review. If the UK is downgraded, the Sensex might be impacted by as much as 1000-1500 points,? said Tejas Doshi, vice-president (equity research), Sushil Financial Services.

The NSE cash turnover on Tuesday was at Rs 12,424.9 crore, while the six monthly daily average was at Rs 15,466 crore. Turnover in derivatives was Rs 1.18 lakh crore and the daily average for the past six months was Rs 76,984 crore. The Nifty March futures commanded a premium of 1.4 points at 5,226.7 compared with a premium of 8.1 points the previous day.

India VIX, a volatility index based on the S&P CNX Nifty index option prices, dipped 9.17% to 18.31. VIX is a measure of the market?s expectation of volatility over the near term and in general increases when the market is bearish and decreases when the market is bullish.

The stock market will remain closed on Wednesday on account of Ram Navmi.