The benchmark indices ended nearly flat on Tuesday after a volatile session marked by sharp intraday swings and mixed global cues. The Sensex, after hitting an intraday high of 84,986.94 (up 208.10 points) in early trade, slipped to a low of 84,219.39 (down 767.55 points or 0.90%) on profit booking. However, it recovered most of the losses to close at 84,628.16, down 150.68 points or 0.18%.
On the monthly expiry day for NSE’s futures and options contracts, the Nifty oscillated between a high of 26,041.70 and a low of 25,810.05, before settling lower by 29.85 points or 0.11% at 25,936.20.
“Markets traded choppy on the monthly expiry day and ended flat, largely continuing the ongoing consolidation phase. Market sentiment remained cautious ahead of key global central bank meetings and major US tech earnings announcements,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking.
“Additionally, muted activity by foreign institutional investors in the cash segment weighed on sentiment, though steady domestic inflows and a largely positive earnings season so far helped maintain an overall constructive tone,” Mishra added.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, “The market remained highly volatile on the NSE monthly F&O expiry day. However, the overall chart setup on the daily timeframe remains intact, with the Nifty trading well above the 21-EMA, keeping the bullish bias intact.”
The broader indices ended flat, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices posting modest gains of 0.12% and 0.06%, respectively. Overall market breadth was negative, with 2,246 losers against 1,910 gainers on the BSE.
On the sectoral front, realty, utilities, consumer durables, oil & gas, and IT were the top losers, falling up to 1%, while metal, PSU banks, and commodities were the top gainers, rising up to 1.3%.
The metals sector gained on renewed optimism following China’s announcement to curb steel overcapacity and potential progress in US–China trade relations, while PSU banks outperformed amid reports of a possible increase in foreign investment limits.
Investors’ wealth declined marginally by ₹81,577 crore to ₹471.11 lakh crore.
Among Sensex constituents, Trent, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, and M&M were the top laggards, falling up to 1.54%, while Tata Steel, L&T, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers, advancing up to 2.97%.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 10,339.80 crore while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 1,081.55 crore, as per provisional data by the BSE.