Markets ended in the red for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, weighed down by auto stocks, to hit their lowest levels in almost a month.

The BSE Sensex ended the day at 38,565, down 80 points, or 0.21 per cent, with Maruti, YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, TATA Steel and NTPC among the biggest losers. Out of 30 components, 20 scrips ended in the red and rest 10 in the green. Broader index Nifty50 failed to hold the 11,600 level and ended the day at 11,576, slipping 18 points, or 0.16 per cent.

India VIX, a guage to measure volatility, moved up over 2.3 per cent to 24.60 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index ended with a gain of five points, or 0.03 per cent, at 15,153 while the S&P BSE Smallcap index ended at 14,804, down around 217 points or 1.44 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading 50 points higher at 15,199.01, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was trading at 14,785, down 19 points or 0.13 per cent.

BUZZING STOCKS

Bharti Airtel ended the day at Rs 316.5, down 1.45 per cent, as the stock turns ex-date for rights issue today (on Tuesday).

Shares of Avenue Supermarts slipped 2.75 per cent to settle at Rs 1289.30 on the BSE on concerns of flat operating margin in the March quarter (Q4FY19).

HEG slipped 4.27 per cent to end at Rs 1,847.05 after hitting a 52-week low of Rs 1,839 earlier in the day after as institutional investors reduced their stake in the company in the March quarter.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Despite the move by Washington, analysts said global oil markets would be able to cope with the Iran disruption as there was enough spare capacity from other suppliers. Brent crude futures were at $74.58 per barrel at 0628 GMT, up 0.7 per cent from their last close and their highest level since November 2018. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures marked their strongest since October 2018 at $65.10 per barrel, up 0.8 per cent from their previous settlement.