MUMBAI: Stock markets benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly flat in a volatile session on Tuesday as gains in select private banking and quick commerce stocks were offset by losses in oil and gas and IT counters.
The 30-share BSE Sensex Sensex slipped 13.53 points or 0.02 per cent to close at 82,186.81. During the morning session in the stock markets, Sensex had climbed as much as 337.83 points or 0.41 per cent to hit an intraday high of 82,538.17 but lost steam later in the day.
The broader NSE Nifty declined 29.80 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 25,060.90.
Analysts attributed the subdued movement to a lack of clarity over the US-India trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline and sustained profit-booking by foreign institutional investors, which weighed on overall market sentiment.
Among Sensex constituents, Eternal was the top gainer, surging 10.56 per cent in a post-results rally. The quick commerce and food delivery firm, which owns the Zomato and Blinkit brands, on Monday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs25 crore for the June quarter. Despite profitability, the company noted that continued investments in its quick commerce and going-out businesses weighed on margins.
Titan gained over 1 per cent, while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank extended their positive momentum following quarterly earnings. Other notable gainers included Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
On the flip side, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, and Reliance Industries were among the prominent laggards.
The market’s attention is on quarterly earnings, which have slowed after initial strength from banking stocks. Positivity noticed on Friday and Monday tapered ahead of the critical August 1 deadline of the US trade agreement.
“Upside in Q1 earnings will be crucial to sustaining current premium valuations. Continued profit-booking by FIIs is exerting downward pressure, though steady DII inflows may offer support for a range-bound trend with a positive bias,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The BSE midcap index fell 0.62 per cent while the smallcap gauge slipped 0.17 per cent.
Among sectoral indices on the BSE, realty declined 1.01 per cent, followed by telecom (0.87 per cent), auto (0.78 per cent), IT (0.53 per cent), and teck (0.53 per cent). Consumer discretionary was the only index to finish in the green.
Range-bound
“Markets remained range-bound and ended almost flat, indicating a pause amid mixed signals. The market continues to lack clear direction amid uneven earnings announcements and muted global cues,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking Ltd.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed with gains, while South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended in the red.
European markets were mostly trading lower in early sessions. Wall Street had ended mostly higher on Monday.
As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs1,681.23 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs3,578.43 crore.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.97 per cent to $68.54 per barrel.
On Monday, the Sensex had gained 442.61 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 82,200.34, while the Nifty rose 122.30 points or 0.49 per cent to 25,090.70.
