Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat Amid Volatility. Tata Motors Rise 2%; Realty, PSU Banks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, Bajaj twins, PowerGrid, SBI emerged early gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday were trading flat amid volatility, despite mixed global cues. At 9.48 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was marginally down 36 points to 64,076. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,130, down 11 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, Bajaj twins, PowerGrid, SBI emerged early gainers. Tata Motors went up 2 per cent after the auto major won an arbitral award of Rs 765 crore plus interest as compensation for its investment at Nano plant in Singur.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5 per cent each.

Sectorally, all the indices were trading in the positive zone, with realty and PSU Bank rose 1 per cent each.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex jumped 330 points to settle at 64,113, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 19,141, up 94 points.

Brent Crude oil prices plunged over 3 per cent to $86.50-odd levels on Monday. Investors now await cues from the US Federal Reserve for its policy decision on Wednesday.

In Asia, Tokyo quoted in the positive zone, while Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong traded lower. The US markets ended significantly higher on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.41 per cent to $87.81 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,761.86 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee inched up 1 paisa against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by elevated crude oil prices and a strong American currency overseas. Forex traders said the dollar strengthened on safe-haven demand. However, a positive trend in domestic equities supported the rupee at lower levels.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee was trading in a narrow range. The local unit opened at 83.26 against the dollar. It rose slightly to 83.25 against the greenback in initial trade, up 1 paisa from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee traded on a flat note and settled 1 paisa lower at 83.26 against the US dollar.