Sensex, Nifty end slightly lower ahead of GDP data

New Delhi: The benchmark indices ended marginally lower on Tuesday ahead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be released on Wednesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 34,346.39, down by 99.36 points while the broader NIfty50 index settled at 10,554.30 down by 28.30 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended over 3 percent lower led by a sharp fall in shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Shares of PNB hit a 20-month low, slipping over 9 percent on the BSE earlier in the day, after the government-owned bank said that it has revealed an additional unauthorised transaction by around Rs 1,300 crore. The stock was trading at its lowest level since June 24, 2016.

The market participants will look forward to key economic data such as Nikkei Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), Fiscal Deficit and GDP to be released on Wednesday.

In the global markets, Asian shares extended their recovery on Tuesday, hitting a three-week high as US borrowing costs eased ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s highly-anticipated first congressional testimony later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.1 percent to three-week highs while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan also hit a three-week high before giving up gains on profit-taking in Chinese shares.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 advanced 1.18 percent on Monday helped by fall in US bond yields.

(With Reuters inputs)