Benchmark indices were trading in the red on Tuesday afternoon, dragged by IT and financials. The Market, after starting off on a negative note in early trade, plunged further amid weak global cues and concerns over Covid impact. However, it recovered marginally on domestic funds' support.
At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was ruling at 49,168.93, down 333.48 points or 0.67 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 49,304.47 and an intra-day low of 48,988.18. The Nifty 50 was at 14,858.15 , down 84.20 points or 0.56 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 14,900 and a low of 14,771.40.
Coal India, IOC, NTPC, UltraTech Cement and Tata Consumer were among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while HDFC, Kotak Bank, Hindalco, Wipro and Divi’s Lab were among the top laggards.
“In the late morning session, bears maintained control of the market, with both the Sensex and the Nifty trading in red territory. Domestic sentiment was influenced by negative signals from other Asian markets,” said CapitalVia Global Research.
“Traders were concerned after Fitch Ratings stated that there are increasing indications that India's latest wave of Covid-19 infections would increase risks among financial institutions (FIs) by weakening near-term momentum in the economic recovery,” it added.
IT, Financials drag
On the sectoral front, a majority of the indices were in the red. Auto, PSU Bank and Realty were able to retain gains while IT and Financials led the decliners.
Nifty Financial Services was the biggest loser by 1.17 per cent. Nifty IT was down 0.91 per cent while Nifty Bank was down 0.72 per cent.
Meanwhile Nifty Auto was up 0.36 per cent and the Nifty PSU Bank was up 0.27 per cent. Nifty Realty was up 0.32 per cent.
Broader indices outperform
Midcap and smallcap stocks continued to outperform the benchmarks.
Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.50 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.57 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.40 while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.89 per cent.
The volatility index softened 1.17 per cent to 19.99.