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Indian equity markets ended Tuesday's session on a subdued note, with benchmark indices witnessing a volatile trading day before recovering most of their intraday losses. Investors remained cautious amid the ongoing June-quarter earnings season, global geopolitical developments, and uncertainty surrounding crude oil prices. While select financial and IT stocks attracted buying interest, weakness in banking and healthcare counters kept the broader market range-bound.
At 3:00 pm, the Sensex was at 77,392.41, down 316.11 points or 0.41% lower. The Nifty was at 24,172.30, down 65.65 points or 0.27% lower.
The buying was seen in selected financial and tech stocks, wherein the day’s biggest gainer turned out to be Shriram Finance, which was up more than 2.5 percent. In addition to this, HCLTech and Bajaj Finserv were also seen in the list of top gainers of the day.
On the flip side, the HDFC Bank was the worst performer in terms of affecting the Nifty performance, followed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Max Healthcare, Cipla, TCS, Infosys, and SBI. The profit-taking in banks and pharmaceuticals companies prevented the index from closing in positive territory.
The trading activity on Tuesday also highlighted a trend that has become very apparent in the earnings season; the markets are being moved more on an individual stock basis rather than as a result of any sectorial momentum. Instead of following the indices, investors have been buying selective stocks with potential for earnings growth while selling those that look expensive.
The erratic performance in the stock market is also a function of continued uncertainty surrounding global developments such as the crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions, which continue to pose risk for emerging economies like India. However, the fundamentals domestically will continue to offer support to keep any correction at bay.
In the coming days, the direction of the market may well depend on earnings and management statements, FII flows, and global macroeconomic signals. Till then, volatility will rule the markets and the action will be largely specific to stocks.
