Share Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close Flat Amid Volatility. Bank, Auto Stocks Drag

Share market today: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday closed with marginal losses amid volatility due to selling pressure in banking and auto shares. The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit a new high at 79,856, slipped into the red and touched a low of 79,231. It finally ended 35 points lower at 79,441. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50 index closed with a loss of 18 points at 24,124. It touched a new high at 24,236 during intraday trading.

Stock update

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank emerged losers. On the flip side, L&T, Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS, HCL Tech, PowerGrid were among the gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap sank 0.6 per cent, while the Smallcap index advanced 0.1 per cent.

The overall market breadth was marginally positive, with over 2,050 stocks traded in the positive zone, while 1,864 shares declined on the BSE.

Sectoral update

Sectorwise, bank, auto, FMCG, power stocks declined 0.3-0.9 per cent, while capital goods, Information Technology, realty, and oil & gas stocks jumped 0.3-1 per cent. 

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE benchmark closed higher by 443 points at an all-time high of 79,476, while the NSE Nifty jumped 131 to end at a fresh lifetime high of 24,142.

Global update

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory on Tuesday, while Seoul ended lower. European markets were trading down. US markets ended in the green on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.66 per cent to $87.17 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 426.03 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Rupee Slips 6 Paise

The rupee depreciated 6 paise to settle at 83.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by a strong greenback in the overseas market and elevated global crude oil prices. Besides, a muted trend in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.51 and hit the intraday high of 83.47 and a low of 83.56 against the American currency during the session.

It finally settled at 83.50 (provisional) against the dollar, 6 paise lower than its previous close. On Monday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to settle at 83.44 against the US dollar.