Sensex snaps two-day winning run, ends marginally lower; bank stocks gain

Market benchmarks closed modestly lower on Tuesday after two days of gains, weighed by profit booking in Reliance Industries, IT and auto stocks amid lack of fresh buying triggers.

A depreciating rupee and lacklustre global cues further weighed on sentiment, traders said. After a positive opening, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained momentum through the session, but succumbed to a fag-end selloff to end at 52,861.18, down 18.82 points or 0.04 per cent.

On similar lines, the broad­er NSE Nifty fell 16.10 points or 0.1 per cent to 15,818.25.

Tech Mahindra was the top loser among the Sensex constituents, shedding 2.30 per cent, followed by TCS, Maruti, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Infosys and M&M.

On the other hand, Ultr­aTech Cement, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers, spurting up to 3.22 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, 11 stocks advanced, while 19 closed in the red.

Indian market was led by financial stocks. Business updates of major banks and NBFCs for the quarter of June which showed improvement in business activity, minimising concerns over second wave impact.

“But profit-booking breached the overall market by the end of the day. Globally, oil prices surged after OPEC called off talks to boost production despite rising global demand,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, GST tax collections slipped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June for the first time in eight months as the second wave of coronavirus lockdowns hit businesses.

At Rs 92,849 crore, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections were the lowest in 10 months since August 2020, official numbers released on Tuesday showed.

Sectorally, BSE auto, IT, teck, energy and industrials tumbled up to 1.85 per cent, while bankex, finance and power led the gainers' list.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap index climbed 0.19 per cent, while the smallcap gauge slipped 0.26 per cent.

Global equities came under pressure as firming oil prices raised concerns over rising inflation and its impact on the nascent economic recovery.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed in the negative terrain, while Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the red in mid-session deals.

The rupee slumped 24 paise to close at 74.55 gainst the US dollar.

The international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.39 per cent higher at USD 77.46 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 338.43 crore, as per exchange data.