Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex declined by nearly 53 points in a volatile trade on Tuesday amid weak trends from Asian and European markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. The 30-share Sensex declined 52.63 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 73,953.31 as 18 of its constituents declined while 12 ended with gains. The index gyrated around 426 between a high of 74,189.19 and a low of 73,762.37 in day trade. The broader Nifty of NSE, however, closed higher by 27.05 points or 0.12 per cent to 22,529.05, driven by gains in metal shares. As many as 27 Nifty shares declined while 23 closed with gains.

“The domestic market experienced a sideways trend and concluded on a flat note today, halting a three-day streak of gains as cautious comments from US Fed officials weighed on investor sentiment. As the general election approaches its final stages, volatility is anticipated to remain elevated. However, despite the ongoing volatility, the market has nearly recouped the losses from the previous peak,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

“Weak Asian and European cues kept the mood sluggish in the domestic market through the trading session. Investors are trading with caution in the run up to poll outcome and are keeping their equity exposure limited,” added Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.34 per cent while smallcap index declined 0.18 per cent. Among the indices, metal rallied by 4.08 per cent, utilities by 1.99 per cent, power by 1.96 per cent, commodities by 1.79 per cent and energy by 1.01 per cent. Financial services, IT, telecommunication, auto, bankex and teck were the laggards.

Among the Sensex components, Nestle, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were the major laggards. Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. European markets were trading in the negative territory. Wall Street ended mostly higher on Monday. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 92.95 crore on Saturday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.55 per cent to $83.25 a barrel. The BSE benchmark climbed 88.91 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 74,005.94 in a special trading session on Saturday. The NSE Nifty advanced 35.90 points or 0.16 per cent to 22,502. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE conducted a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on May 18 to check their preparedness for handling major disruptions or failures at the primary site.