MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surrendered most of their early gains on Tuesday as profit-taking set in amid reports of a ceasefire breach in Middle East between Iran and Israel.
In morning trade, the market rallied sharply, tracking global cues and a steep drop in crude oil prices on hopes of a possible de-escalation in the Middle East.
The 30-share Sensex jumped 1,121.37 points or 1.36 per cent to an intra-day high of 83,018.16 before paring most of the gains. It eventually closed 158.32 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 82,055.11.
The broader 50-share Nifty rose 72.45 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 25,044.35, down from its intra-day peak of 25,317.70.
Initial gains in the domestic market, driven by the ceasefire announcement and sharp drop in crude prices, were short-lived as renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East unsettled investor sentiment.
“Adding to the uncertainty was heightened volatility due to expiry day dynamics. Although the market attempted to break out of its recent consolidation range, persistent global risks continue to impede momentum,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Among Sensex constituents, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the top gainers. On the losing side were Power Grid, Trent, NTPC, Maruti, HCL Tech and Bharat Electronics.
Elsewhere in Asia, indices in South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong closed significantly higher. European markets were trading with gains in mid-session trade, while US markets ended in the green on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 3.20 per cent to $69.13 a barrel.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs1874.38 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) made net purchases worth Rs5591.77 crore.
On Monday, the Sensex had lost 511.38 points or 0.62 per cent to end at 81,896.79, while the Nifty fell 140.50 points or 0.56 per cent to 24,971.90.
