E-Paper
Sensex, Nifty erase early gains to end lower, bank stocks depress equity indices
The BSE Sensex fell about 100 points on Tuesday, as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data.
The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 99.36 points or -0.29% to close lower at 34,346.39 on Tuesday, erasing its early gains as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data. Banking, PSU, realty and financial counters came under selling pressure.
Buying was witnessed in telecom, oil & gas, energy and FMCG counters.
The government is scheduled to release the December quarter GDP growth numbers as well as IIP data on Wednesday.
The broader NSE Nifty 50 was at 10,554.30 at close, 28.30 points or 0.27% lower.
Top gainers on the BSE Sensex included Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s,Hero Motocorp, NTPC and Reliance, with gains of as much as 2.07%. Losses on the other hand were led by bank stocks, with Axis Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC, and Kotak Bank losing up to 2.68%.
The Nifty PSU Bank index was down 3.49% to close at 3,057.30,110.50 points lower.
On a net basis, DIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,409.45 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,119.51 crore on Monday, provisional data released by stock exchanges showed.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher following gains on Wall Street overnight ahead of Fed chair Jerome Powell’s first congressional testimony later in the day.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.58% higher yesterday on fall in US bond yields.
