Market Closing: Sensex Ends 94 pts Higher; Nifty Near 19,990; Mid, SmallCap Indices Sink Up To 4%

Sensex Today: Equity markets were volatile and ended mixed on Tuesday as investors chose to stay on the sidelines ahead of the release of the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation data later today, and amid profit booking.

The S&P BSE Sensex hit an intraday high of 67,539 and a low of 66,948, before ending at 67,221, up 94 points or 0.14 per cent. The Nifty50, on the other hand, shut shop at 19,993, down 3 points or 0.02 per cent. The index claimed a new lifetime high of 20,110 in intra-day trade.

The broader markets, meanwhile, saw their steepest one-day decline this calendar year with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices shedding 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, at close.

Among sectors, the Nifty Media index declined nearly 4 per cent, the Nifty Metal index nearly 3 per cent, and the Nifty PSU Bank and Auto indices up to 2.5 per cent. On the upside, the Nifty IT and Pharma were the only indices that eked out gains today, rising up to 1 per cent.

Shares of auto companies, mainly diesel vehicle makers, slipped in intra-day deals on Tuesday, after Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, said he planned to approach the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with an additional tax proposal on diesel vehicles of 10 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The level of pessimism has risen in the stock market leading to a precautionary approach to book profits on a notion that the valuation has extended beyond the rationale. The correction is happening on midcaps while large caps are maintaining their strength. This cautious trend can prevail in the short-term, but the end-game is on the rise of the domestic economy, surprising upside in corporate earnings, and change in domestic investment patterns, which is expected to continue on a long-term basis.”

Global markets

US stocks rallied overnight ld by a 1.14 per cent jump in the Nasdaq index, the S&P 500 gained 0.67 per cent and the Dow rose 0.25 per cent.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by about 1 per cent, mainland Chinese stocks were also subdued, with the CSI 300 down 0.14 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6 per cent while Nikkei in Japan bucked the trend with a 0.13 per cent gain.