Sensex, Nifty Extend Decline To Day 3 After Choppy Session: Market Wrap

The benchmark stock indices ended lower for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, tracking losses in shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 44.30 points or 0.19% lower at 22,888.15, and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 220.05 points or 0.29% down at 75,170.45.

During the day, the Nifty jumped 0.29% to 22,998.55, and the Sensex rose 0.26% to 75,585.40.

There was range-bound activity and the up move in the pharma index was mainly restricted by broader markets as the mid- and small-cap segments witnessed a sharp profit-booking correction, according to Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Share Brokers Pvt.

In the daily timeframe, the index has formed another bearish candle, Gaggar said. "We hold our view of retesting a strong support of 22,780, while a level of 23,110 will be considered as immediate resistance."

RIL, Airtel, Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and NTPC Ltd. dragged the Nifty the most.

Asian Paints Ltd., SBI Life Insurance Co., Divi's Laboratories Ltd., Grasim Industries Ltd., and HDFC Life Insurance Co. led the gains.

Eight out of the 12 sectors on the NSE declined, with Nifty Realty being the top loser.

The broader markets underperformed as the BSE MidCap ended 0.63% lower and the SmallCap ended 1.09% lower.

Except Healthcare, all sectoral indices on the BSE ended lower, with Realty falling the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers as 2,501 stocks declined, 1,320 rose and 124 remained unchanged on the BSE.