Indian benchmark equity indices ended marginally lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious amid rising geopolitical concerns and resorted to profit booking following the recent rally in domestic markets.
The BSE Sensex settled at 77,470.11, down 238.41 points or 0.31 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 closed at 24,187.70, losing 50.80 points or 0.21 per cent. Market participants remained watchful of global developments and preferred a cautious approach despite positive cues from several Asian markets.
Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty Auto emerged as the top performer, gaining 0.93 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal, which rose 0.63 per cent. Nifty Pharma advanced 0.34 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank edged up 0.07 per cent, providing some support to the broader market.
On the downside, Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.88 per cent, making it the worst-performing sector of the day. Nifty IT slipped 0.61 per cent, while Nifty FMCG fell 0.31 per cent. Nifty Financial Services lost 0.16 per cent, and Nifty Media eased 0.04 per cent.
Among the Nifty stocks, Shriram Finance was the biggest gainer, rising 2.77 per cent. It was followed by Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors, UltraTech Cement and HCL Technologies. On the other hand, HDFC Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Reliance Industries figured among the top losers and weighed on the benchmark indices.
Riyank Arora, Associate Vice President – HNI & Derivatives at Hedged.in, said the decline was largely the result of investors booking profits after the recent rally rather than any major deterioration in market fundamentals.
"Today's decline was relatively modest and appears to be driven by profit booking after the recent rally rather than any significant deterioration in market sentiment. As long as benchmark indices continue to hold above their immediate support levels, the broader outlook remains constructive. Traders may continue to adopt a buy-on-dips strategy while maintaining disciplined risk management," he said.
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Commenting on the broader market, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said mid-cap stocks continued to perform well despite global uncertainties, supported by expectations of healthy corporate earnings.
"Despite geopolitical challenges, midcaps are performing well in anticipation of strong corporate earnings, supported by demand-led business updates. While this segment's elevated valuations compared to large caps warrant caution, underlying business conditions are expected to remain healthy at least through H1FY27," he said.
Nair added that the broader market continued to trade in a mixed range as large-cap stocks underperformed amid moderating investment inflows and rising geopolitical risks. In the commodities market, Brent crude oil was trading at USD 89.33 per barrel at the time of reporting, while the Indian rupee was quoted at ₹96.24 against the US dollar.
Most Asian equity markets ended the day with gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 2.92 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI climbed 3.43 per cent, Taiwan's Weighted Index surged 4.03 per cent, and Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.51 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, however, ended marginally lower by 0.03 per cent.
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