Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for the third consecutive day on Tuesday in volatile trading, dragged by selling in IT and blue-chip private banking shares and foreign fund outflows amid concerns over the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees.
After fluctuating between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 57.87 points or 0.07 per cent at 82,102.10. During the day, it hit a high of 82,370.38 and a low of 81,776.53, fluctuating by 593.85 points. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 32.85 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,169.50. Buying in auto stocks and select public sector banks somehow cushioned the losses.
Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices. Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India, on the other hand, were among the gainers.
The domestic equity market traded rangebound and ended flat, indicating continuation of the consolidation. Broader sentiment stayed cautious, with small and mid-cap stocks lagging the benchmarks. Sector-wise, auto, metals and financials gained on signs of robust festive demand after GST cuts, while FMCG and real estate stocks came under pressure from profit booking.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,910.09 crore on Monday, further affecting the market sentiment.
In Asian markets, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower while South Korea's Kospi ended in positive territory. While markets in Europe were trading higher, US markets also ended higher on Monday.
Also read: Sensex up 595 pts as India-US talks resume
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