Sensex slips below 66,000; Nifty down 10 points; Vodafone Idea rises 7%; EKI Energy falls 10%

Domestic equity markets settled lower on Tuesday after a volatile session. The bias of benchmark indices was towards the downside amid a host of mixed global cues, rising US dollar, bond yields and inflation worries.

For the day, BSE's barometer Sensex shed 78.22 points, or 0.12 per cent, to settle at 65,945.47. NSE's Nifty50 retreated 9.85 points, or 0.05 per cent, to end at 19,664.70. Broader markets ended mixed as the BSE midcap index settled in red, while the BSE smallcap index inched up slightly. Fear gauge India VIX jumped almost 3 per cent to 11.19-level.

Markets witnessed a listless trading session and lingered in negative territory for most part of the trading session due to weak Asian and European cues. Traders resorted to selective profit-taking ahead of RBI policy outcome, while external factors like firm dollar index and rising treasury yields continue to dampen sentiment, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, the Nifty has formed a inside body candle indicating continuation of a range bound trend in the near future. For day traders, 19,735 would be the immediate resistance level while 19,620 could act as a key support zone. Above 19,735, the index could move up till 19,780-19,800. On the other hand, below 19620 the market could slip till 19,550-19,520," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty media index dropped about a per cent, while the Nifty IT and PSU Bank indices also posted significant cuts. The Nifty pharma, financial services and private bank indices also weighed on markets. Among the gainers, the Nifty FMCG index gained over half a per cent. The Nifty metal, auto and realty indices also posted decent gains.

In the Nifty50 pack, Cipla, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank dropped more than a per cent each, while Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Infosys, Asian Paints and Adani Enterprises also posted similar cuts. On the contrary, Eicher Motors rose about 3 per cent, while Hero MotoCorp and Nestle India gained 2 per cent each. ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and Grasim were other key gainers.

"Trading remained flat as headwinds from the global market and continued selling by FIIs kept domestic investors under vigil. While bargain hunting was visible in small-cap stocks due to the recent correction and favourable valuation compared to large and mid-caps, IT indices slid due to the fear of one more rate hike by the FED and a consequent reduction in spending, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

A total of 3,793 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 1,871 settled with gains. 1,791 stocks ended the session with cuts while 131 shares remained unchanged. A total of 14 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas only nine shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Shreyas Shipping hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, while IFCI gained 12 per cent. Cochin Shipyard, Divgi TorqTransformer Systems, Foods and Inns jumped 11 per cent each. NIIT and Omaxe settled 9 per cent up each. Ashoka Buildcon rose 8 per cent, while NCC, MTAR Technologies, Apar Industries and Vodafone Idea rose 7 per cent each.

Among the losers, EKI Energy Services hit a lower circuit of 10 per cent. HLE Glasscoat tumbled more than 8 per cent. Rajnish Wellness and Voltamp Transformers cracked about 6 per cent each. Greenlam Industries, GMR Power and Urban Infra declined 5 per cent each for the day.

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