MUMBAI– Indian equities ended slightly lower Tuesday after a choppy trading session, as profit-taking erased early gains fueled by strong macroeconomic data and optimism around the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Investor caution ahead of the GST Council meeting and futures and options (F&O) expiry kept sentiment in check.
The Sensex closed at 80,157.88, down 206.61 points, or 0.26 percent. The 30-share index opened higher at 80,520.09, extended its rally to an intra-day high of 80,761.14, but slipped into negative territory by late trade. The Nifty ended at 24,569.60, down 45.45 points, or 0.18 percent.
“Domestic equities reversed early gains from strong macro data, ending lower on profit booking amid caution ahead of the GST Council meeting and F&O expiry, with banking stocks leading the decline,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Sectorally, banks and auto stocks dragged the indices. Nifty Bank dropped 341 points (0.63 percent), Nifty Auto fell 75 points (0.29 percent), and Nifty Financial Services slipped 170 points (0.66 percent). Nifty IT ended flat, while Nifty FMCG outperformed, gaining 631 points (1.12 percent).
Broader indices fared better, with the Nifty Midcap climbing 151.90 points (0.27 percent) and the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 93 points (0.53 percent). The Nifty 100 finished flat.
Among the top movers, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, Trent, Ultratech Cement, L&T, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank posted notable gains. PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, BEL, Bajaj Finserv, and ITC also ended positive.
Sugar stocks rallied after relaxed ethanol norms, while export-oriented companies benefited from dovish U.S. trade signals. Still, investors remained cautious, focusing on domestic consumption trends amid global uncertainty, Nair said.
The rupee traded slightly higher at 88.16, supported by expectations that GST rationalization will boost consumption, partly offsetting pressure from tariffs. “However, the dollar stayed firm at 98.30, keeping overall pressure on emerging currencies, while crude prices at $65.95 may weigh on the rupee in the near term,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.
Foreign institutional investors continued selling, and analysts expect volatility to persist. Trivedi pegged the rupee’s short-term trading range at 87.85 to 88.40. (Source: IANS)
