Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat. IndusInd Bank Rises 2 Per Cent, PSU Banks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HUL, M&M were in the red

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, were trading flat on Tuesday amid volatility. The domestic indices were bogged down by selling pressure in HDFC, HUL, M&M, Infosys, HCL Tech, and HDFC Bank.

At 10 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 60,063, up 7 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was at 17,747, up 4 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HUL, M&M were in the red. On the upside, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj twins, SBI, Axis Bank, NTPC emerged winners in early trade.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap was flat with a mild downtick, while Smallcap was up 0.1 per cent.

Shares of Welspun India surged 3 per cent as the company is set to consider buyback proposal on April 27. Shares of Mahindra Lifespace added 2 per cent after the company said it has secured project to redevelop a housing society in Mumbai with an expected revenue potential of Rs 850 crore.

Among sectors, Nifty PSU Bank index gained 0.7 per cent, while Nifty IT and Consumer Durable indices fell up to 1 per cent.

The Rs 4,326-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Mankind Pharma will open for subscription on Tuesday with a price band of Rs 1,026-1,080 per share.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied 401 points (0.67 per cent) to end at 60,056. On the other hand, the Nifty50 surpassed the 17,700-mark to settle at 17,743, up 119 points.

Asian markets witnessed mixed trends as Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's SSE Composite Index were quoting lower. On Monday, European markets closed in the red, while the US shares ended on a mixed note as investors await financial results of big tech companies and fresh economic data amid concerns in certain quarters about possible recession.

In a pre-market open note, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said the Indian market could open flat to mildly higher, despite largely lower Asian markets today and mixed US markets on Monday.

Asia-Pacific markets were largely lower on Tuesday, following a similar session on Wall Street as investors look ahead to big tech earnings later this week, he added.

Mitul Shah, Head of Research – Institutional Desk at Reliance Securities, in a pre-market open note said the markets are in the thick of the earnings season both in India and globally.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers on Monday as they offloaded domestic equities worth Rs 412.27 crore, as per data available with BSE.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in the morning session on Tuesday amid a weak American currency and a muted trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said foreign fund outflows also weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 81.95 against the dollar. It touched a high of 81.86 in initial deals. The rupee on Monday settled at 81.92 against the US dollar.