Benchmark stock indices ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with both the Sensex and Nifty falling over 1.5% amid heavy profit booking. A steep decline in IT stocks added to the pressure on Dalal Street.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1,281.68 points to settle at 81,148.22, while the NSE Nifty50 slipped 346.35 points to close at 24,578.35.
According to media report, Sundar Kewat, Technical and Derivatives Analyst, Ashika Institutional Equity, said that geopolitical tensions remained in focus as market participants monitored the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, adding to the cautious sentiment.
Sun Pharmaceuticals led the gains on the Sensex, rising 0.84%, followed by Adani Ports with a 0.48% uptick. Bajaj Finance inched up 0.29%, while State Bank of India posted a slight gain of 0.04%. Tech Mahindra also ended in the green with a marginal rise of 0.03%.
Infosys led the decline, tumbling 3.54%, followed by PowerGrid Corporation with a 3.40% drop. Eternal slipped 3.38%, HCLTech fell 2.94%, and Tata Consultancy Services declined 2.88%, rounding out the day’s top losers.
“The downside was primarily triggered by profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment following the sharp run-up, coupled with concerns over mixed corporate earnings results and global cues,” said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza.
Meanwhile, broader markets showed resilience, with the Nifty Midcap100 rising 0.19% and the Nifty Smallcap100 gaining 0.81%. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, eased by 1.04%.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Media emerged as the top gainer with a rise of 1.66%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, which climbed 1.56%. Nifty Pharma advanced 1.22%, and the Nifty Healthcare Index gained 0.97%. Nifty Consumer Durables also closed slightly higher, edging up 0.04%.
On the downside, Nifty IT led the losers with a sharp decline of 2.42%, while Nifty FMCG dropped 1.34%. Nifty Auto lost 1.00%, followed by Nifty Oil & Gas, which slipped 0.91%. Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services were down 0.99% and 0.88% respectively, while Nifty Metal fell 0.89% and Nifty Realty declined 0.72%.
“Going forward, investors will closely watch upcoming inflation data and quarterly earnings for further direction, with expectations of volatility but underlying bullishness intact,” said Vidwani.