Profit booking in IT stocks weighs on indices
Investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of RBI’s interest rate decision later this week; Equity markets settle flat in volatile trade as IT stocks play spoilsport; However, late buying in auto, industrial and commodity stocks limited losses
image for illustrative purpose
Profit booking in IT stocks weighs on indices
Mumbai Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty closed marginally higher in a volatile session on Tuesday as fag-end buying in auto, industrial and commodity stocks helped the indices extend gains for a third straight day. Investors also preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision later this week, traders said.
After a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE Sensex eked out marginal gains of 5.41 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 62,792.88. During the day, it hit a high of 62,867.95 and a low of 62,554.21. The NSE Nifty went up by 5.15 points or 0.03 per cent to end at 18,599.
“Markets remained volatile and ended almost unchanged amid mixed cues. After the flat start, the Nifty drifted lower as the day progressed. However, a sharp recovery in the last half an hour trimmed all the losses. Eventually, Nifty settled closer to the day’s high at 18,599 levels,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP (technical research), Religare Broking Ltd. UltraTech Cement was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, climbing 3.13 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. In contrast, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Nestle were among the laggards.
“While the markets ended flat, buying was seen in rate-sensitive stocks like banking, auto and realty ahead of the RBI's MPC meet later this week. With expectations rising that the central bank could once again take a pause on rate hikes, hopes of steady interest rates going ahead triggered optimism in the rate-sensitives,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
“A gauge of Indian IT stocks declined the most in seven weeks after a US-based peer – EPAM Systems cut its revenue growth forecast, warning of a slowdown in dealmaking,” adds Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
- BSE Sensex marginally up by 5.41 pts or 0.01% to 62,792.88
- During the day, Sensex hit a high of 62,867.95 and a low of 62,554.21
- NSE Nifty went up by 5.15 pts or 0.03% to 18,599
