New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower in highly volatile trade on Tuesday as investors preferred to remain cautious ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The BSE Sensex closed at 60,672.72, down 18.82 points or 0.03 per cent. It touched a low of 60,583.72 and a high of 60,976.59 in the day’s trade. The NSE Nifty closed at 17,826.70, down 17.90 points or 0.1 per cent.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Infosys and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards.
NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the major gainers.
“Despite early gains, negative cues from global peers overshadowed investor sentiment. Buoyed by inflation concerns, markets eye US Fed meeting minutes, scheduled to be released on Wednesday, for further monetary policy tightening.” for the signal.” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
Nair said FIIs turned net sellers and fear of El Nino weather phenomenon added to the risk appetite. In Asian markets, South Korea and China ended in the green, while Hong Kong and Japan closed lower. European stock markets were trading with a fall in the afternoon trade. US markets were closed on Monday for ‘President’s Day’.
International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.50 per cent to $82.81 per barrel. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 158.95 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.