Stock Market: Sensex Sheds 326 Points, Nifty Holds 17,300 Ahead Of GDP Data. Reliance, Tata Steel Dip 2 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, RIL, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, ITC, Airtel were the prime laggards. Asian Paints, M&M, PowerGrid, UltraCemco, HDFC, Tata Motors emerged winners

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday ended in the red despite starting with marginal gains. The domestic indices showed a weak trend and ended lower for the eighth straight trading session amid sustained selling in index heavyweights such as Reliance, Infosys, Tata Steel, and ITC. Investors were also jittery ahead of the December quarter GDP numbers to be announced later on Tuesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex touched a high of 59,484 in early deals, but thereafter slipped into the negative zone and hit a low of 58,796, down 688 points from the day’s high. The Sensex finally closed 326 points lower at 58,962. It has declined a total of 2,358 points in the past eight trading days.

On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 sank to a low of 17,255 in intra-day deals from a high of 17,440. The Nifty eventually settled 89 points lower at 17,304. It also broke its 200-DMA (Daily Moving Average) which stands at 17,384 - a key technical indicator on the charts.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, ITC, Airtel were the prime laggards. On the flip side, Asian Paints, M&M, PowerGrid, UltraCemco, HDFC, Tata Motors emerged winners.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended in the green.

Among sectors, power and realty up 1 per cent each, while metal, oil & gas, healthcare, and IT down 1-2 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 59,228, down 176 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty settled at 17,392, down 73 points.

"Global investors' interest in the equity market is weakening due to the slowdown in the economy, led by high inflation and contractionary monetary policy. Inflows are being diverted to safe assets, and corporate earnings growth is dropping, affecting the performance of the stock market and demanding downgrade in valuation. The double whammy for India is that it is expensive compared to other EMs, resulting in underperformance among the global market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, South Korea, Japan, China ended higher, while Hong Kong settled in the red. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading mostly lower. The US markets had ended higher on Monday.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will release the second advance estimate of the Gross Domestic Product for 2022-23 along with December quarter data on Tuesday evening.

International oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.67 per cent to $83 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 2,022.52 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 15 paise to close at 82.64 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, ahead of the release of key domestic macroeconomic data. Forex traders said the central bank's intervention and lower commodity prices supported the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.69 against the American currency and finally settled at 82.64 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 15 paise over its previous close of 82.79. During the trading session, the rupee touched a high of 82.63 and a low of 82.75 against the dollar.