The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday settled off record highs as profit booking at higher levels capped the market rally amid volatility. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 66,795, up 205 points, after hitting an all-time high of 67,007 during the day. On the other hand, the Nifty50, closed 38 points up at 19,749, from a record peak of 19,819.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Asian Paints, HCL, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Wipro were among the gainers. On the downside, SBI, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Tata Motors were among the losers.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended in the negative zone, down up to 0.47 per cent.
Among sectors, metal and realty indices down nearly 1 per cent each, while power index up 0.6 per cent and information technology index up 1 per cent. The Nifty Private Bank index, meanwhile, added just 0.05 per cent. All other indices settled in the negative zone.
The Rs 631-crore initial public offer (IPO) of Netweb Technologies was subscribed 7.9 times till 3:30 pm on the second day of the offer. The subscription was led by employees, with their portion booked 15 times. The retail investors' quota was booked 7.94 times, NII at 14.36 times, and QIB 2.6 times. The offer will close on Wednesday.
In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 66,590, surging 529 points, while the Nifty50 settled at 19,711, up 147 points.
"The bulls continued to lift the market to new heights, but volatility emerged in the second half due to concerns over valuation. Rapid fall in the dollar index and a slide in the US 10-year yield are supporting liquidity in emerging markets. While disappointing economic growth in China and improvement in the US market outlook are drawing attention to the Indian market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.
In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the green, while Seoul and Shanghai ended lower. Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.31 per cent to $78.74 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equities worth Rs 73 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled flat at 82.03 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, as the support from positive domestic equities and weak American currency was negated by rising crude oil prices. Market participants remained cautious ahead of retail sales data from the US and the UK's inflation data this week, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.01 against the US dollar and finally settled at 82.03 (provisional), unchanged from its previous close. During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.97 and a low of 82.07. In the previous session on Monday, the rupee had closed at 82.03 against the dollar.