Sensex, Nifty Settle Almost Flat Amid Volatile Trade

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost flat on Tuesday after a record-breaking rally as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines awaiting further triggers.

After trading in the positive territory for the most part of the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 33.49 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 76,456.59 due to fag-end selling. During the day, it jumped 370.45 points or 0.48 per cent to 76,860.53. In a volatile trade, the NSE Nifty ended marginally up by 5.65 points or 0.02 per cent to 23,264.85.

Sensex and Nifty hit their all-time high levels in the early trade on Monday.

"After a notable rebound, the domestic market has stabilised, awaiting further triggers. With the resolution of uncertainties in government formation, attention has shifted back to global and domestic indicators. Concerns have risen regarding potential US rate cuts following last week's strong US job data, leading to an increase in US bond yields.

"However, FIIs have been net buyers lately. Investors are now gearing up for this week's policy decisions from the US Fed and the BoJ, as well as key inflation data from the US and India, seeking insights into the trajectory of rate cuts," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and JSW Steel were the major laggards.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.95 per cent, and midcap index rallied 0.74 per cent. Among sectoral indices, telecommunication rallied 1.93 per cent, oil and gas climbed 1.84 per cent, realty soared 1.04 per cent, energy jumped 1 per cent, auto (0.89 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.60 per cent).
In contrast, metal, FMCG and consumer durables were the laggards.

"The markets remained range-bound and ended unchanged, continuing the Monday's trend. After a flat start, the Nifty gradually climbed higher, but profit-taking in the latter half erased all gains, eventually settling at 23,264.85," said Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled higher, while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading lower. US markets ended in positive territory on Monday.

"Global equities were mixed on Tuesday in a busy week that will bring some important reports on US inflation along with a policy meeting of the Federal Reserve. " The UK unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to its highest level (4.4 per cent in February-April vs 4.3 per cent in the previous period) in two and a half years. European assets extended Monday's losses as nervousness over political upheaval in France continued," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

Signalling continuity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday retained Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar in charge of the four high-profile ministries - Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs - respectively, in his new government.

The four ministers in charge of these portfolios make up the crucial Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the prime minister. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.32 per cent to USD 81.37 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,572.38 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. After breaching the 77,000 mark during early trade on Monday, the BSE benchmark Sensex came under selling pressure at the fag-end of the session and ended 203.28 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 76,490.08. Halting its three-day rally, the NSE Nifty dipped 30.95 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 23,259.20.