Underperforming firm global momentum, Indian equities started on a tepid note on Tuesday amid profit booking by investors. In early deals, the S&P BSE Sensex was at 69,978 level, up 49 points or 0.07 per cent.

The Nifty50, on the other hand, was at 21,030 level, up 33 points or 0.16 per cent.

HDFC Life, Hindalco, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, SBI Life, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, ITC, Grasim, Tata Consumer Products, Bajaj Auto, Adani Enterprises, and BPCL were the top gainers on the 50-pack index, up between 0.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent.

On the other hand, ONGC, Infosys, L&T, Apollo Hospitals, Bharti Airtel were the top laggards, down up to 1 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were ruling 0.28 per cent and 0.52 per cent higher, respectively.