Indian benchmark indices ended marginally lower on Tuesday, with the BSE Sensex slipping 69.86 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 76,765.92.
The Nifty 50 fell 10.60 points, also down 0.04 per cent, to settle at 23,985.35.
Bank Nifty saw a sharper decline, dropping 331.60 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 56,755.60.
The IT sector was the standout performer of the day, with the Nifty IT index surging 3.32 per cent, led by gains in TCS and Tech Mahindra.
On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever was the biggest drag on the index, plunging nearly 7 per cent after its quarterly earnings fell short of market expectations.
Coal India also declined more than 4 per cent after its quarterly profit missed expectations due to weaker production volumes and higher operating costs, while Bharat Electronics was also among the day’s top losers.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap index edged up 0.08 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap index slipped 0.22 per cent.
The mixed session came a day after the Sensex and Nifty had posted sharp gains on Monday, snapping a five-day losing streak that had been driven by rising crude oil prices.
Tuesday’s session unfolded against a backdrop of mixed global cues, with several Asian markets, including Japan’s Nikkei, South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite, also trading lower during the day.
Market participants said the earnings season remained a key driver of stock-specific moves this week, with several large companies due to report their quarterly results in the coming days.
The day also marked the monthly expiry for Nifty futures and options contracts, which analysts said contributed to range-bound trading through large parts of the session.
Foreign institutional investors have been closely watched in recent sessions, with their buying or selling activity often cited as a factor behind the market’s day-to-day direction.
(Image: Niyantha Shekhar (CC BY 2.0))
