New York  - Major US stock indices rallied on Tuesday, led by surging steel profits, lower oil prices and a jump in financial stocks despite some worrying new housing data.

US Steel Corp, the second-largest US steel producer, climbed 14 per cent after more than doubling its profits in the second quarter of the year. An index of steelmakers jumped by the most since 2002, according to Bloomberg financial news.

Crude oil fell more than 2.50 dollars to 122.19 dollars per barrel in New York, part of a weeks-long drop since topping 140 dollars per barrel in early July.

New Delhi - India's benchmark Sensex index tumbled 4.2 per cent in trading on Tuesday afternoon on heavy selling by funds and investors after the Federal Reserve Bank of India hiked its key interest rate.

The 30-share index lost 606.41 points and was trading at 13,742.70 points at mid-session soon after the RBI announced the hike in a quarterly review of the monetary policy.

Market analysts said weak global markets had a negative impact on trading in the domestic bourses.

Seoul - Shares nosedived Tuesday on the Seoul stock exchange

The 30-share Index, BSE Sensex lost over 400 points as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) by 25 basis points and Repo by 50 basis points.

At 11:59, Sensex stood at 13,907.92, down 441.19 points, while the broad-based NSE Nifty lost 103.45 points at 4228.65. It also touched a low of low of 13,903.69.

The overall market breadth was sharply negative as it experienced 886 progressions as against 1367 declinations.

Indian stock markets ended positively on Monday (July 28), led by Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power and ACC.

The broad based Nifty’s increase was led by oil & gas, capital goods and consumer durable stocks. But, metal and power stocks went down.

On global front, the majority of the Asian stocks went up on Monday, however, European shares declined during the early trade.

Finally, the Sensex marked its closure at 14,349.11 after making a gain of 74.17 points. It also touched a high of 14,421.61 and a low of 14,219.38 during the day.

Tokyo - Stocks plunged more than 2 per cent in Tokyo Tuesday after Wall Street sharply fell overnight on renewed worries about the US financial market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 287.34 points, or 2.15 per cent, to 13,066.44.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 30.42 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 1,270.37.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 107.43-46 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 107.73-76 yen.