CLOSING BELL
Markets took a breather on Tuesday, a day after clocking two-month highs, as investors booked profits in HDFC Bank and HDFC along with other heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Bajaj twins, Kotak Bank, Infosys, and State Bank of India (SBI). That apart, mixed global cues, rising bond yields globally, and an uptick in oil prices also dented the sentiment.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex oscillated within a range of 700 points before settling 435 points, or 0.7 per cent, down at 60,177. HDFC Bank was the top laggard on the 30-pack index today, down 3 per cent. This was followed by HDFC (down 2 per cent), Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, and RIL.
On the upside, NTPC and PowerGrid advanced nearly 3 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, followed by ITC, Nestle India, Titan, TCS, and Asian Paints.
On the NSE, the Nifty50 held the 17,950-mark and ended at 17,957, down 96 points or 0.5 per cent. More than 50 per cent of the index contituents settled in the negative zone.
However, the broader markets put up a strong show with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices gaining 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
Given this, overall market breadth on the BSE favoured buyers with over 2,300 stocks ending in the green as against about 1,000 stocks that closed in the red.
Among sectors, the Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices were the only losers, slipping around 1.5 per cent each. The gains, meanwhile, were led by the Nifty Auto and FMCG indices, up little over 1 per cent each.
Global markets
European markets nudged higher on Tuesday as global investors sought a catalyst, with eyes on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and economic indicators. The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged 0.4 per cent higher by mid-morning after a cautious start, with chemicals adding 1.2 per cent while basic resources slid 0.8 per cent.
On Wall Street, Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite Futures eased in the range of 0.05 per cent to 0.15 per cent.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei added 0.2 per cent, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.05 per cent, and China's CSI300 climbed 1.3 per cent.