Indian equity markets had a seesaw day of trading on Tuesday, as a last-hour fall led to a close near the flatline for both indices. The Sensex fell by three points to close at 61,761, while the Nifty gained two points to close at 18,266. The Nifty Bank slipped 86 points to 43,198, while the midcap index gained 12 points to 32,489.
Auto stocks continued their upward trajectory, with the Nifty Auto hitting an all-time high. TCS, Axis Bank, Infosys, and HDFC lifted the market, while ITC, SBI, and ICICI dragged. The top Nifty losers were UPL, ITC, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and JSW Steel.
In company news, Indiabulls Realty slid 20 percent as NCLT Chandigarh withheld Embassy merger, while SRF closed in the green but off highs after an in-line set of results for Q4. Pidilite rose nearly three percent from lows on positive management commentary, and Venus Remedies surged five percent on marketing approval for two cancer drugs. Lupin rose nearly three percent from lows ahead of earnings, and Mankind Pharma made a strong debut, closing the day with a gain of 32 percent. Birlasoft and MGL saw major buying after strong Q4, with stocks up seven percent each.
However, PSU Banks fell for the second straight day as Canara Bank, BoI, and Union Bank reported weak earnings. The market breadth favored declines, with the advance-decline ratio at 3:4. BSE companies gained a market capitalization of Rs 13,000 crore on Tuesday.
Financial and FMCG stocks led the headline indices lower, while IT shares traded in the green. The market ended at a five-month closing high on Monday, and investors are eagerly awaiting more financial results from India Inc for domestic cues. Broader market names like Lupin, Apollo Tyres, Raymond, and Godrej Agrovet are due to post their earnings later in the day.