Stock Market: Sensex And Nifty End Flat Tracking High Volatility. PSU Banks Slip

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, UltraCemco, TCS, Wipro, Infosys ended in the red. NTPC, PowerGrid, Reliance, Tata Steel, HDFC twins emerged winners

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday ended on a flat note amid heavy volatility as investors sold rallies at higher level.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 60,673, down 19 points (0.03 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 ended at 17,827, down 18 points (0.1 per cent).

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, UltraCemco, TCS, Wipro, Infosys ended in the red. On the flip side, NTPC, PowerGrid, Reliance, Tata Steel, HDFC twins emerged winners.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index fell 0.21 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap eased 0.31 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index declined 1.9 per cent, leading the list of losers. The Nifty FMCG index was the only gainer with modest gains of 0.19 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex index declined 311 points to end at 60,692. On the other hand, the Nifty50 index gave up 17,850-mark to close at 17,845, down 100 points.

"Despite opening gains, negative cues from global peers cast a shadow over investor sentiments. Underpinned by inflationary concerns, the market is keenly eyeing the US fed meeting minutes, scheduled to be released on Wednesday, for hints on further monetary policy tightening," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Risk appetite was further hammered by FIIs turning net sellers and fear of El Nino weather event, Nair said.

In Asian markets, South Korea and China ended in the green, while Hong Kong and Japan settled lower. European equity markets were trading lower in the afternoon trade. The US markets were shut on Monday for 'Presidents Day'.

International oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.50 per cent to $82.81 per barrel.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 158.95 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 9 paise to close at 82.82 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.76 against the greenback and finally settled for the day at 82.82 (provisional), registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close of 82.73. During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 82.73 and a low of 82.83 against the American dollar.