Stock Market: Sensex Rises 94 Points, Nifty Ends Around 20,000 Amid High Volatility. Most Sectors In The Red

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, L&T, Infosys, UltraTech, ICICI Bank, Nestle were among the gainers. PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, M&M, Reliance emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday ended the day flat amid high volatility ahead of the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation data later today. The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an intraday high of 67,539 and a low of 66,948, ended at 67,221, up 94 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 19,993, down 3 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, TCS, L&T, Infosys, UltraTech, ICICI Bank, Nestle were among the gainers. On the downside, PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, M&M, Reliance emerged losers. Shares of auto companies, mainly diesel vehicle makers, slipped in intra-day deals on Tuesday, after Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, said he planned to approach the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with an additional tax proposal on diesel vehicles of 10 per cent. However, he later rejected the claims.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices shedding 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.

Sectorwise, except Information Technology (up 1 per cent), all other sectoral indices ended in the red, with auto, capital goods, power, oil & gas, metals, and realty down 1-3 per cent each.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex closed at 67,127, up 528 points, while the Nifty50 index hit an all-time high of 20,008. It, eventually, closed at 19,996, up 176 points.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the green while Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading on a mixed note. The US stocks ended in positive territory on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Monday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,473.09 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.74 per cent to $91.31 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 9 paise to close at 82.94 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday amid fresh foreign fund inflows and expectations of better macroeconomic data. Forex traders said the Indian rupee appreciated on Tuesday as domestic markets hit fresh record highs after Nifty breached the 20,000-mark for the first time on Monday.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.93 against the US dollar and moved in a range of 82.86 to 83.01 in the day trade. The rupee finally settled 9 paise higher at 82.94 (provisional) against the previous close. On Monday, the rupee closed on a flat note at 83.03 against the American currency.