Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat Amid Weak Asian Cues. IT Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Titan, Airtel, Maruti, Asian Paints were among the lead gainers. HCLTech, Wipro, TechM, NTPC, Infosys, M&M emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday opened in the red tracking cues from the Asian market. The indices later recouped some of the losses and were trading flat amid volatility. At 10.20 am, the BSE Sensex was down 24 points to 73,304. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,090, down 8 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Titan, Airtel, Maruti, Asian Paints were among the lead gainers. On the down side, HCLTech, Wipro, TechM, NTPC, Infosys, M&M emerged losers. Among specific stocks, Jio Financial dropped over 4 per cent after reporting 56 per cent QoQ fall in its Q3 profit.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices held mild gains of up to 0.2 per cent.

Sectorwise, IT, healthcare, power, and realty sectors have declined, while metal, auto, and capital goods are, however, trading in the green zone.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 73,328, up 759 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed the day at 22,097, up 203 points.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were quoting lower. The US markets were closed on Monday on account of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to $78.29 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,085.72 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee reversed its nine-day upward movement and depreciated 11 paise to 82.97 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, tracking a strong American currency against major overseas rivals and subdued equity market sentiment. Some inflow of foreign funds supported the Indian currency which was weighed down due to volatile crude oil prices, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened weak at 82.95 and slipped further to 82.97 against the greenback in initial trade, registering a loss of 11 paise from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee settled with a gain of 9 paise at 82.86 against the US dollar. This was ninth consecutive day of gain for the Indian currency.