Stock markets end flat; Sensex dips nearly 70 points
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Tuesday as investors’ sentiment turned cautious ahead of key global central bank policy meetings this week and a heavy sell-off across Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 69.86 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 76,765.92. During the day, it hit a high of 76,988.48 and a low of 76,672.77, gyrating 315.71 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 10.60 points, or 0.04 per cent, to end at 23,985.35.
From the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever tanked 6.97 per cent after the FMCG major reported a 3.17 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,680 crore for the June quarter, mainly on account of exceptional items and higher taxes. Bharat Electronics, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, and Reliance Industries were also among the laggards. Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and Titan were among the major gainers.
“The respite in crude oil prices provided relief to markets by easing concerns over inflation and input cost pressures. However, investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of key central bank policy meetings this week, including those of the Fed, BoE (Bank of England), and BoJ (Bank of Japan),” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 2.82 per cent to USD 85.87 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,688.23 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI tanked 10.84 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index also ended lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled marginally higher.
“Indian equity markets ended largely flat as a broad selloff across Asian markets weighed on investor sentiment,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. US markets ended on a mixed note.
On Monday, the Sensex jumped 776.01 points, or 1.02 per cent, to settle at 76,835.78. The Nifty surged 228.50 points, or 0.96 per cent, to end at 23,995.95.
