Market close
Indian shares finished the session in negative territory on Tuesday as selling pressure in Technology, Real Estate and Fast Moving Consumer Goods names pushed benchmark indices lower. At the close on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 fell 1.12%. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex 30 declined 1.28%.
Top movers on the Nifty 50
The strongest performers on the Nifty 50 were NTPC Ltd (NSE:NTPC), Coal India Ltd (NSE:COAL) and IndusInd Bank Ltd. (NSE:INBK). NTPC rose 2.28%, gaining 8.55 points to finish at 384.00. Coal India added 1.28%, or 5.45 points, to close at 431.45. IndusInd Bank advanced 1.23%, up 11.30 points, to end the day at 931.05.
On the downside, Tech Mahindra Ltd (NSE:TEML) led losses, dropping 6.30% or 90.80 points to trade at 1,350.10 at the close. HCL Technologies Ltd (NSE:HCLT) declined 5.83%, down 83.20 points to 1,343.00. Eternal Ltd (NSE:ETEA) fell 5.07%, a loss of 13.60 points, to 254.40.
BSE Sensex 30 movers
On the BSE, NTPC Ltd (BO:NTPC) rose 2.12% to 383.40, IndusInd Bank Ltd. (BO:INBK) gained 1.27% to settle at 931.40 and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (BO:HLL) added 0.90% to close at 2,366.00.
The weakest on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra Ltd (BO:TEML), which fell 6.32% to 1,350.70 in late trade, HCL Technologies Ltd (BO:HCLT), down 5.79% to 1,343.75, and Eternal Ltd (BO:ETEA), which decreased 5.04% to 254.60 at the close.
Market breadth and 52-week moves
Decliners outnumbered advancers across both exchanges. On the NSE, 1,760 stocks fell while 760 advanced and 36 finished unchanged. On the BSE, 2,616 stocks declined, 1,379 advanced and 131 were unchanged.
NTPC shares reached 52-week highs on both exchanges - on the NSE up 2.28% or 8.55 to 384.00, and on the BSE rising 2.12% or 7.95 to 383.40. HCL Technologies fell to 52-week lows on both exchanges - on the NSE losing 5.83% or 83.20 to 1,343.00, and on the BSE falling 5.79% or 82.60 to 1,343.75.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The India VIX, which measures implied volatility for Nifty 50 options, decreased 1.27% to 13.99.
In commodities, Gold Futures for April delivery were down 0.58% or 30.46 to $5,195.14 a troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery rose 0.24% or 0.16 to $66.47 a barrel, while the May Brent contract gained 0.14% or 0.10 to trade at $71.21 a barrel.
On the currency front, USD/INR declined 0.09% to 90.93 and EUR/INR fell 0.12% to 107.16. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 97.75.
Takeaway
Tuesday's session saw broad-based weakness with notable divergence between energy and financial names, which recorded gains, and a steep sell-off in large cap technology stocks. Volatility eased modestly as measured by the India VIX, while key commodity and FX prices moved modestly in both directions.