Benchmark indices started off flat on Tuesday as global sentiment remains subdued amid another sharp rally in oil prices. At 9:16 am IST, the Sensex fell 135.42 points or 0.24 percent at 57157.07, and the Nifty fell 29.10 points or 0.17 percent at 17088.50. About 1066 stocks are up, 758 stocks are down and 99 stocks are unchanged.
Sensex-30 stocks included Tata Steel, Wipro, TCS, Tech M, HCL Tech, Dr. Reddy’s to the handful of top winners, meanwhile HUL, Neslte, Ultractech Cement, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and HDFC twins were the biggest losers.
Meanwhile, HUL, Neslte, Ultractech Cement, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, Britannia and Grasim were the biggest laggards on the exchanges.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were mixed, with the former down 0.2 percent and the latter green with even gains.
Sectorally, Nifty Bank, Auto FMCG, financials and Realty were all in the red with losses between 0.5-1 percent. On the other hand, the oil and gas, IT and metals indices showed a strong showing, trading as high as 1.5 percent.
On the equities side, oil companies posted strong gains as crude oil hovers around the $120 a barrel peak, while state oil retailers have also increased gasoline and diesel prices as of today, supporting the uptick. ONGC, Oil India, Hind Petroleum, BPCL, Indian Oil and Adani Total Gas were up 1-4 percent.
Global clues
Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Tuesday after a lukewarm lead from Wall Street as Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell took an aggressive tone on monetary policy as traders continued to monitor the Ukraine war. The Hang Seng index rose 0.46 percent, or 97.85 points, to 21,319.19. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.13% or 4.14 points to 3,249.54, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange fell 0.22% or 4.65 points to 2,155.89.
Tokyo shares opened higher on Tuesday after a three-day weekend, despite the decline in US stocks in oil prices and the Fed’s aggressive comments on inflation. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.98 percent or 263.89 points to 27,091.32 at opening, while the broader Topix index added 0.72 percent or 13.66 points to 1,922.93.
US equities ended a day of choppy trading on Wall Street with a modestly lower closing Monday, returning some of their recent gains after the major indices recorded their best week in more than a year. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% after giving up early gains and bouncing for much of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 percent. In comments to the National Association of Business Economists, Fed Chair Powell said the Fed would raise its near-term benchmark by half a point at multiple Fed meetings if necessary to slow inflation.
Oil futures extended their gains Tuesday morning after news that some members of the European Union are considering sanctions on Russian oil and as attacks on Saudi oil facilities have terrified the market. West Texas Intermediate futures rose $2.21, or 1.97 percent, to $114.33 a barrel on NYMEX in the first month and Brent futures rose $2.51, or 2.26 percent, to $118. 23 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange.
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