Equities in India climbed 298 points, or 0.5%, to 82,164 in early deals on Tuesday, gaining for the fourth straight session and hitting their highest level since September 19. The central bank’s new lending reforms continued to lift market sentiment. The upturn was mainly supported by gains in financials and oil & gas, which rose 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. Other sectors also advanced, including banking (up 0.4%), supported by strong quarterly results from major scheduled banks and attractive valuations. The BSE Sensex followed gains on Wall Street on Monday, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached record highs fueled by AI-related dealmaking, while shrugging off concerns over a potential U.S. government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 rose 0.4%, with small-cap and mid-cap indices up 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Among early gainers were Bajaj Finance (+1.6%), ICICI Bank (+1.1%), Power Grid (+1.1%), Tata Steel (+1.05%), and IndusInd Bank (+0.9%).