The BSE Sensex ended with modest gains Tuesday, rising 32 points to 16,020.64, while the broader Nifty index edged up 15 points to 4,863. The Sensex shed 120 points from the day's high amid increased selling in the last hour of trade. The Nifty nearly hit the 4,900 mark in intraday trade, but ended substantially lower.
Markets had gained nearly 1% in early trade tracking strength in Asian stocks and the rupee. The rupee later gave up gains and slipped against the dollar. The volatility index shot up over 2.5% indicating the choppiness in trade.
Capital goods stocks (2%) led the gain on the BSE. Engineering and construction conglomerate L&T (3.2%) was the top Nifty gainer. Power equipment manufacturer BHEL (1.8%) also saw buying interest. Banking stocks (0.82%) gained for the second straight day on rate cut hopes later this month. PSU banks like Bank of Baroda (2.1%) and SBI (1.8%) were among the top Nifty gainers.
High beta realty stocks (-1.4%) led the declines on the BSE. Consumer durables (-0.67%) and FMCG (-1.1%) stocks also saw selling pressure.
Three stocks - ITC, Tata Motors and Bharti- accounted for the loss of over 60 index points on the Sensex.
Tata Motors (-3.15%) was the top Nifty loser. The stock has fallen nearly 20% in the last five days. An unexpected drop in margins in the luxury JLR brands has hit investor sentiment.
Ambuja Cements (-3%), wireless major Bharti Airtel (-2.5%) and engineering firm Siemens India (-2.4%) were the other big losers.
In all, 31 of the 50 stocks traded higher. The market breadth had weakened substantially as compared to early trade. Only 55% stocks managed to advance on the BSE 500 index.
Indian markets weakened despite modest gains in European markets. Spain's IBEX index rose 0.29%, while the CAC 40 index in France advanced 0.55% at 4 p.m. Earlier, Asian markets ended with strong gains.
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