— Domestic equity benchmarks ended in the red on Tuesday, giving up early gains amid mixed global signals and profit-booking in heavyweight stocks. The BSE Sensex fell by 288 points to close at 83,410, while the NSE Nifty-50 dropped 88 points to settle at 25,453, with both indices shedding over 0.3% each.
Broader markets also witnessed mild selling pressure. The BSE MidCap index declined by 0.2%, and the SmallCap index slipped by 0.2%, reflecting cautious sentiment across segments.
Among the Sensex constituents, 16 out of 30 stocks ended lower. Major losers included Bajaj Finserv (down 2.1%), Larsen & Toubro (down 1.9%), and Bajaj Finance (down 1.5%). On the gaining side, Tata Steel jumped over 3.7%, Asian Paints rose 2.1%, and UltraTech Cement added 1.6%.
On the sectoral front, 11 out of 21 indices on the BSE closed in negative territory. Notable laggards were Realty (down 1.3%), Financial Services (down 0.9%), and Industrials (down 0.8%). However, Metals outperformed with a 1.4% gain, followed by Consumer Durables and Commodities, which rose 1.2% and 0.9% respectively.
Market breadth on the BSE remained weak:
- Declining stocks: 2,205
- Advancing stocks: 1,809
- Unchanged: 157
At the NSE, 65 stocks touched fresh 52-week highs, while 36 hit their 52-week lows, reflecting a choppy trading environment.
Analysts suggest investors are turning cautious ahead of key economic data releases later this week, including India’s June services PMI and global cues related to inflation and interest rate outlooks.
Rupee depreciates by 17 paise to close at 85.70 against US dollar
In the Forex market, the rupee today depreciated by 17 paise to close at 85 rupees and 70 paise against the US dollar. The dollar index, which indicates US dollar’s strength against a basket of six other leading currencies, was trading at 96.94 in intra-day trade.
