Stock Market: Sensex Rises Marginally By 22 Points, Nifty Holds 18,200 Amid High Volatility

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, TechM, and others were the early winners

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Tuesday were trading flat in early morning deals amid high volatility after markets in the Asia-Pacific began the first trading week for the year with sharp losses. The domestic indices pared losses and started trading in the green. 

At 9.55 am, the BSE Sensex was trading marginally up by 22 points to 61,190, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 18,209, up 12 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, TechM, and others were the early winners. On the flip side, Tata Steel, Maruti, Airtel, ITC, Reliance, HUL, and others were in the losses.

Individually, shares of Reliance Industries, ONGC, and Oil India fell over 1 per cent each after the government hiked windfall tax on crude oil to Rs 2,100 per tonne from Rs 1,700 with effect from January 3. Export tax on diesel rose to Rs 7.5 per litre. Shares of Zomato declined 2.5 per cent after its co-founder and chief technology officer Gunjan Patidar quit the food aggregator platform.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices outperformed the mainstream indices by rising up to 0.3 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index (up 1.1 per cent) was the top performing index in today's trade, while the Nifty Metal index fell the most, down 0.18 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex closed 327 points higher at 61,168. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty touched a low of 18,086 but bounced back to close at 18,197, up 92 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 9 paise to 82.69 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, as crude oil price retreated from its elevated levels. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.69 against the dollar, registering a rise of 9 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee declined 17 paise to close at 82.78 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.30 per cent to $85.65 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 212.57 crore, according to exchange data.