The key benchmark indices were trading lower in the early deals today. The Sensex was trading at 15,079, down 111 points. The Nifty fell 27 points to 4,475.

Realty, metals and IT stocks were under pressure. The BSE realty index fell 1.2 per cent. The metal index on the BSE dropped 1 per cent and the BSE ITindex shed 0.8 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, Sterlite Industries was the biggest loser. The stock fell 3 per cent. Tata Steel, DLF and JP Associates were the other main losers in the group.

Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Wipro were among the prominent gainers in the group.

US stocks jumped on Monday, giving the Dow Jones industrials their sixth straight advance, as investors got more robust earnings news from big companies and data that suggests the economy is closer to a recovery. News that CIT had struck a financing deal that will keep the troubled commercial lender out of bankruptcy also drove the market higher.

The Dow rose 104.21, or 1.2 percent, to 8,848.15, its sixth straight advance, the longest set of gains since a seven-day rise in April 2007.

The S&P 500 index rose 10.75, or 1.1 percent, to 951.13, its best finish since Nov. 5.

Asian markets, however, were trading mixed. Japans Nikkei 225 was up 1.7 per cent and South Koreas Kospi rose 0.6 per cent. Chinas Shanghai Composite, however, slipped 0.5 per cent.