Amidst concerns about potential interest rate hikes in the US and ongoing foreign fund outflows, the Sensex and Nifty, India’s equity benchmark indices, concluded the day with minimal changes on Tuesday, as investors locked in profits.
The BSE index managed a slight uptick of 3.94 points or 0.01%, settling at 65,220.03. Throughout the trading session, it scaled up by 146.82 points or 0.22%, reaching 65,362.91. Correspondingly, the NSE Nifty experienced a marginal rise of 2.85 points or 0.01%, coming to a close at 19,396.45.
Among the prominent gainers in the Sensex pack were ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti, and Bharti Airtel. Conversely, Jio Financial Services, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, and UltraTech Cement lagged behind.
On Monday, the financial services arm of Reliance Industries, Jio Financial Services, debuted on the stock exchanges. However, this newly listed entity is expected to be excluded from the indices on the third day of its listing.
Across Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all saw gains, while European markets displayed positive trends. The US markets also ended mostly in positive territory on Monday.
Vinod Nair, the Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, pointed out that despite the favourable performance of international markets, Indian equities struggled due to persistent concerns regarding global uncertainties. Sectors closely linked to the Western economy, like IT and pharma, faced difficulties. On the other hand, domestic-oriented sectors, as well as mid and small-cap stocks, demonstrated resilience and gained traction.
The market’s volatility can be attributed to the influence of higher bond yields and apprehensions about potential interest rate hikes in the US, causing Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to withdraw funds from the domestic market. On Monday alone, FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 1,901.10 crore, according to exchange data.
In the realm of commodities, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, witnessed a decline of 0.18%, settling at $84.31 per barrel.
In the previous trading session, the BSE benchmark had surged by 267.43 points or 0.41%, settling at 65,216.09. Similarly, the Nifty demonstrated a gain of 83.45 points or 0.43%, culminating at 19,393.60.
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