Market gauges Sensex and Nifty gave up intraday gains to end lower on Tuesday, dragged down by energy and financial stocks, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation.
After rising 272.39 points during the day, the BSE Sensex turned negative and settled 45.72 points, or 0.13 percent, down at 34,915.80; while the NSE Nifty slipped 10.30 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 10,302.10.
In terms of quarterly performance, the Sensex gained 18.5 per cent or 5,447 points during the April-June quarter, while the Nifty rose nearly 20 per cent or 1,704 points.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious keeping in view the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and the ongoing border standoff with China.
Analysts said the Indian market pared intra-day gains as participants adopted a wait and watch approach ahead of Modi’s address.
The Prime Minister in his address to the nation post market hours on Tuesday announced extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a free ration scheme, for 80 crore people across the country till end of November.
The Union government on Monday issued guidelines for unlock 2.0 despite a rapid increase in coronavirus infections in several parts of the country.
On the Sensex chart, PowerGrid was the top laggard, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, ITC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries.
On the other hand, Maruti, Nestle India, ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Sectorally, BSE oil and gas, energy, telecom, healthcare, power and utilities indices fell up to 1.51 per cent.
While auto, basic materials, FMCG and bankex rose up to 1.05 per cent.
Broader midcap and smallcap indices fell up to 0.75 per cent.
“In spite of trading positive for most part of the day, the benchmark indices gave up its gains and ended flat with a negative bias. The markets were impacted by the uncertainties surrounding PM’s address to the nation,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
He further said many Indian cities are extending their lockdowns in the face of unabated growth in coronavirus infections, which added to the uncertainty surrounding the economic recovery.
“The market direction for tomorrow may also largely be guided by the content of the PM’s address and global cues,” Nair added.
On the currency front, the rupee settled 7 paise higher at 75.51 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan, and Seoul ended with significant gains.
However, stock exchanges in Europe started on a tepid note.
“Asian shares advanced on Tuesday as positive economic data from China and the United States helped to close out a strong quarter, though a renewed surge in global coronavirus cases underlined a challenging investment climate,” said Deepak Jasani – Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
International oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.36 per cent to USD 41.28 per barrel
The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.03 crore and the death toll has topped 5.05 lakh.
In India, the number of infections spiked to 5,66,840 and the death toll rose to 16,893.
