Stock Market: Sensex Slips 68 Points, Nifty Settles Below 19,750 Amid Volatility. PowerGrid Falls 5%; IT Leads

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC, TechM, HCL, M&M, TCS, Infosys emerged gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, oscillated between gains and losses throughout the session tracking volatility, on Tuesday. The S&P BSE Sensex gyrated 270 points during the day before closing at 66,459, down 68 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 19,734, down 20 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC, TechM, HCL, M&M, TCS, Infosys emerged gainers. On the downside, PowerGrid was the prime loser, down 5.36 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Reliance, SBI, Maruti were among the losers.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index slipped 0.2 per cent, while the BSE SmallCap index added 0.54 per cent.  

Among sectors, realty index dropped nearly 2 per cent and PSU Bank index down 0.5 per cent, while Information Technology index rose 1 per cent and Metal index added 0.75 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 367 points to end at 66,528. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 reclaimed the 19,750-mark to end at 19,754 levels, up 108 points.

"Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors began to find more cause for cheer over global economic prospects than reasons to worry, even as data showed risks remain. European markets were lower on Tuesday as investors digested a busy week of earnings and weak Eurozone manufacturing activity in July..." Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains, while Hong Kong and Shanghai settled lower. European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended in the green on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.49 per cent to $85.01 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 701.17 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, rupee pared initial losses and settled for the day 3 paise higher at 82.26 (provisional) against US dollar on Tuesday amid a muted trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said the rupee witnessed range-bound movement on Tuesday as the dollar index moved higher and Asian currencies moved lower against the American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.32 against the US dollar and settled 3 paise higher at 82.26 (provisional) against the previous close. During the day, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 82.24 and a low of 82.33. On Monday, the rupee had closed at 82.29 against the dollar.