Mumbai: Equity benchmarks took a dent on Tuesday after two days of sharp gains as investors posted gains in banking and financial stocks following their recent rally. The HDFC twins, who topped the charts in the previous session after announcing their mega merger, were the biggest drag on Tuesday.
Investors’ focus also returned to the Russia-Ukraine war and soaring oil prices, which hampered global markets, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 435.24 points or 0.72 percent to end at 60,176.50. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 96 points or 0.53 percent to 17,957.40.
HDFC Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, with a 2.98 percent slip, followed by Bajaj Finserv, HDFC, Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, NTPC, PowerGrid, ITC, Titan, TCS and Nestle India were among the winners, rising to 3.40 percent.
Of the Sensex stocks, 17 stocks closed lower while 13 were in the green. “Major indices took a breather after yesterday’s rally and as the global market slumped. But the broad market continued its positive trend. Mid and small caps have become attractive after the consolidation over the past 5 to 6 months.
“Such a trend to outperform can be expected with short to medium term volatility as the Russia-Ukraine war, interest rate hikes and inflation are factored into the current market price,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. . , VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said markets could consolidate after the recent gains and this would be healthy.
“However, there will be no shortage of trading opportunities, thanks to scheduled events such as the MPC’s monetary policy review meeting and the start of the earnings season. The participants should focus on the sectors/themes that are doing well and use the break to build quality stocks from dips,” he added. Utilities, consumer discretionary, industrials and autos posted healthy gains.
BSE’s mid-cap and small-cap numbers rose to 1.37 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, stocks in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul closed strongly.
Stock markets in Europe were negative during mid-session deals. The international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.59 percent to $109.24 a barrel.
Investors are closely monitoring developments in Ukraine amid speculation that Russia may face tougher economic sanctions. The rupee continued its winning momentum on Tuesday, rising 24 paise to settle at 75.29 against the US dollar as the US currency and crude oil price retreated from recent highs.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pumped more than Rs 1,150 crore net into equities on Monday during a rally in the market, according to stock data.
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