Sensex Ends 100 pts Lower, Nifty Near 15,800; Power Stocks Gain

Benchmark indices erased all the intraday gains to end in the red amid high volatility. At close, the Sensex was down 100.42 points or 0.19 per cent at 53,134.35, and the Nifty was down 24.50 points or 0.15 per cent at 15,810.90.The BSE Sensex rose around 300 points to 53,521, while the NSE Nifty advanced 80 points to 15,920.

PowerGrid, Shree Cement, Apollo Hospitals, Hindalco, Bajaj Finserv, ONGC, Tata Motors, and HUL were the top gainers on the 50-pack index, while ITC, Wipro, HDFC Life, Britannia Industries, Maruti Suzuki, and M&M were the top draggers.

Overall, the Nifty Metal index was the best performing sectoral index today, up 0.3 per cent. On the flipside, the Nifty IT index slipped 0.7 per cent.

In the broader markets. the BSE MidCap index fell 0.4 per cent, but the BSE SmallCap inde rose by 0.2 per cent. Little over 1,700 stocks advanced on the BSE today, as against around 1,570 stocks that closed in the red.

Among stocks, Marksans Pharma surged over 11 per cent after the company said it will consider a share buyback.

MMTC also soared 7 per cent. The company has completed the sale of Neelachal Ispat Nigam to Tata Steel Long.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The market lacks clear direction and this trend can be expected to continue in the context of high uncertainty in the global economy. There are no clear indicators yet on whether the US economy will slip into recession and how serious the ongoing global growth slowdown will be. Elevated crude and high inflation will continue to drag on markets. The recent correction has made valuations fair but not yet attractive enough for aggressive buying. Leading financials continue to be safe buys. Moderation in commodity prices and improvement in chip availability bode well for autos. Market resilience in July indicates that a close above Nifty 16000 can lead to a near-term rally. Financials, autos and IT have the potential to drive such a probable rally.”

Global Cues

Tokyo stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors searched for clues while US markets were closed for a national holiday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.74 per cent, or 193.31 points, to 26,347.12 in early trade, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.55 per cent, or 10.36 points, to 1,880.07.

Asian shares inched up on Tuesday morning as positive economic data and hints of easing Sino-U.S. tensions offered some respite to the recent sell-offs, though persistent fears about a global recession and sky-high inflation kept most buyers at bay. MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.3 per cent, having erased part of the early morning gains.

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