Mumbai: Indian equity markets closed lower on Tuesday after heavy selling in banking and financial stocks wiped out most of the early gains seen during the trading session. The BSE Sensex dropped 114 points to settle at 75,201, while the NSE Nifty50 declined 32 points to close at 23,618.
Markets traded in positive territory for most of the day, but profit booking in large banking stocks during the second half of trade pulled the indices lower. Investors remained cautious in financial stocks even as buying continued in technology and midcap shares.
Bank Index Slips From Day’s High
The Nifty Bank index ended 128 points lower at 53,409 after falling nearly 355 points from its intraday high levels. Major banking stocks such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the biggest drags on the benchmark indices.
Despite weakness in frontline banking names, the broader market remained strong. The Nifty Midcap index gained 548 points to close at 61,022. Market breadth also remained positive, showing that more stocks advanced than declined during the session.
IT Stocks Continue Strong Gains
Information technology shares extended their rally for a second straight trading session. The Nifty IT index has now gained nearly 6% over the last two sessions. Infosys, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra emerged among the top gainers on the Nifty50 index.
Among individual stocks, Tata Motors rose another 2% as investors tracked updates linked to Jaguar Land Rover’s business outlook. Coforge gained 5% after brokerage firm CLSA said the company could benefit strongly from growing investments in artificial intelligence.
Cooling Stocks, Oil Firms Advance
Cooling-related companies such as Voltas and Blue Star also moved higher on expectations of strong summer demand for air-conditioners. Oil marketing companies gained after fuel price hikes, with HPCL rising more than 3 percent.
On the downside, Astral declined 7 percent after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell below market expectations.
