MUMBAI: Shares on Indian stock markets ended the day in the red as the BSE Sensex lost 176.43 points (0.21%) to settle at 83,536.08, while the NSE Nifty fell 46.40 points (0.18%) to 25,476.10.
The decline in stock markets was driven by losses in IT and oil & gas stocks, as traders remained wary ahead of the Q1 earnings season and followed mixed signals from international markets.
Among Sensex constituents, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics, and ICICI Bank were notable laggards, while Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, and Power Grid managed gains.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, pointed to a muted outlook, saying domestic consumption continues to “anchor investor sentiment” even as global trade tensions and commodity tariffs raise concerns.
Market watchers are now turning their attention to upcoming quarterly results, hoping for confirmation of improving urban demand and infrastructure-led investments.
Vedanta shares
Shares of Vedanta dropped 3.38 per cent to close at Rs440.80 on the BSE after Viceroy Research, a US-based short-seller, initiated a short position on its parent company Vedanta Resources.
The 85-page report alleges the group is “financially unsustainable” and poses significant risk to creditors, claims that Vedanta has strongly refuted as “malicious” and “baseless”
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers, offloading Rs26.12 crore worth of equities on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors picked up Rs1,366.82 crore. Oil prices remained firm, with Brent crude rising 0.51 per cent to $70.51 a barrel, adding to pressure on energy-related stocks.
Asia ended mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined. European markets traded higher and US markets were flat on Tuesday.
