Mumbai, June 30: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Tuesday due to selling in IT, oil & gas and select banking shares amid uncertainty over the next round of US-Iran negotiations in Doha.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 249.70 points, or 0.33 per cent, to settle at 76,478.67, paring its opening gains. During the day, it fell by 398.98 points, or 0.51 per cent, to a low of 76,329.39.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 80.50 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 23,865.75.
The delayed onset and sluggish progress of the southwest monsoon, fresh foreign fund outflows and decline in blue-chip IT stocks weighed on market sentiment, analysts said.
Among Sensex shares, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.
Maruti, Titan, Bajaj Finance and Eternal were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,350.10 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 0.23 per cent to USD 73.32 per barrel.
Broader markets also advanced as the BSE SmallCap Select index went up by 0.59 per cent MidCap Select index rose by 0.46 per cent.
Sectorally, BSE Focused IT tanked 2.62 per cent, followed by IT (2.48 per cent), PSU Bank (0.68 per cent), Bankex (0.25 per cent), Top 10 Banks (0.23 per cent), Metal (0.18 per cent), Utilities (0.12 per cent) and Private Banks index (0.12 per cent).
Realty jumped 1.23 per cent, while Services (1.01 per cent), Consumer Durables (0.98 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.81 per cent), MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (0.59 per cent), Healthcare (0.58 per cent), Capital Goods (0.55 per cent) and Commodities (0.32 per cent) were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index ended higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. US markets ended higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 2.07 per cent and S&P 500 climbing 1.18 per cent.
On Monday, the Sensex declined 372.10 points, or 0.48 per cent, to settle at 76,728.37. The Nifty dropped 109.75 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 23,946.25.
Rupee falls 5 paise vs USD
The rupee depreciated by 5 paise to close at 94.56 against the US dollar on Tuesday, as a strengthening greenback overseas and risk-averse investor sentiment weighed on the local unit.
Forex traders said the rupee slid to 95.55 against the US dollar in early trade, driven by month-end corporate import demand and lingering risk-off sentiment. However, relatively stable global crude prices and anticipated central bank interventions supported the currency and restricted the slide.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.60 against the American currency and finally closed at 94.56, down 5 paise from its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee pared initial gains and settled lower by 6 paise at 94.51 against the dollar.
Parmar further added that from a technical standpoint, spot USD/INR faces immediate resistance at 95.10, while a breakdown below 94.40 will act as key support.
Experts said month-end and quarter-end dollar demand is keeping the dollar well bid. Importers, corporates, and banks typically use this period to square positions and meet payment obligations.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.34, up 0.23 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.37 per cent at USD 72.88 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 249.70 points to settle at 76,478.67, while the Nifty fell 80.50 points to 23,865.75.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 2,556.75 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Tuesday that the US-India trade deal is in its “final steps”, with only the last one per cent of negotiations left to be concluded.
Addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, Gor said he was determined to agree, as it would be beneficial to both nations, and it would be sealed after nearly 18 months of talks. (PTI)
