Mumbai– Indian equity markets took a sharp hit on Tuesday, with both the Sensex and Nifty falling over 1% amid widespread selling pressure, weak global cues, and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows. Auto stocks led the decline, adding to the bearish sentiment.
The benchmark Sensex tumbled 872.98 points, or 1.06%, to close at 81,186.44. It swung between an intraday high of 82,250.42 and a low of 81,153.70. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 dropped 261.55 points, or 1.05%, to settle at 24,683.90.
“The Nifty slipped after two days of consolidation, dragged down by broad-based selling and weakening market breadth,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. “Despite today’s fall, the short-term trend remains positive, though a deeper pullback toward the 21-day exponential moving average (EMA) on the daily chart can’t be ruled out.”
Losses were broad-based, with most Sensex constituents ending in the red. Only three stocks—Tata Steel, Infosys, and ITC—managed to eke out gains. Tata Steel climbed 0.73%, Infosys edged up 0.08%, and ITC gained a modest 0.07%.
Among the top losers was Eternal (formerly Zomato), which slumped 4.10%. Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, and Nestlé India also registered notable losses.
The broader market mirrored the weakness. The Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 1.62%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.94%. All sectoral indices ended lower, with the auto sector bearing the brunt—Nifty Auto dropped 2.17%, making it the worst-performing sector of the day.
Market volatility also edged higher, with the India VIX—often referred to as the fear index—rising 0.12% to 17.39, signaling growing nervousness among investors.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, attributed the sell-off to a mix of global uncertainty and domestic caution. “With no major positive triggers and concerns over U.S. fiscal stability, investors resorted to profit booking and adopted a wait-and-watch approach,” he said.
Nair added that delays in finalizing the India-U.S. trade agreement and high market valuations contributed to the pressure. “In the near term, we expect a phase of consolidation, with FIIs possibly continuing to pare back exposure in the domestic markets,” he noted.
As investors digest macroeconomic cues and await further clarity on trade talks, markets may remain range-bound in the short term, with heightened volatility likely to persist. (Source: IANS)
