The Indian stock market experienced a seesaw of gains and losses on Tuesday, with initial positive momentum eroded by notable declines in key sectors, primarily led by losses in Bajaj Finance. While Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Motors showed strength, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, and Larsen & Toubro faced significant setbacks.
The Sensex retreated by as much as 394 points from its highest level of the day, causing the Nifty 50 index to fall below the crucial psychological level of 21,700. As of 9:38 am, the Sensex was down 121 points at 71,807, and the Nifty declined 14 points to 21,724.
Market analyst V K Vijayakumar from Geojit Financial Services remarked, “It appears that the strong DII and retail support and the consequent resilience of the market is forcing FIIs to reduce their selling. The Fed commentary on Wednesday will influence the US bond yields and consequently the FII strategy.”
Across Asian markets, there was a mix of performance with China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.62%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2%, South Korea’s KOSPI up 0.06%, and Japan’s Nikkei rising 0.26%.
Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index led the gains with a 0.75% rise, while Nifty Realty, Metal, FMCG, and Auto indices also posted gains between 0.4-0.8%. Conversely, Nifty Bank, Financial Services, PSU Bank, and Private Bank indices faced a negative bias.
Large-cap stocks such as RIL, Bharti Airtel, L&T, and ICICI were noted for their strength in supporting the market. Analysts suggest that short-term market expectations are influenced by budget expectations, with potential impacts arising from any major changes in taxation related to the capital market.
Top Nifty gainers included Hindalco, rising 1.6% to Rs 577, along with Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, UPL, and LTI Mindtree.
On the flip side, Bajaj Finance faced a 4% drop to Rs 6,906 after reporting a smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Monday. The dip was attributed to a regulatory ban on two lending instruments and higher bad loan provisions.
The overall market breadth showed positivity, with 1,860 shares advancing while 1,110 declined in the BSE.
