S&P BSE Sensex NSE Nifty 50: Selling in financial, metal and auto shares was dragging the markets.
Domestic stock markets were at the lows of the day in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, in line with global equities, amid lingering US-China tensions and spike in Covid-19 cases. The S&P BSE Sensex declined as much as 1.6 per cent - or 589.68 points - to 36,100.85 and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark was a 10,627.80, down 175.45 points or 1.6 per cent. All the NSE sectoral indices were trading in the red, with the exception of the pharma index. Selling pressure in financial, metal and auto shares was dragging the markets.
Top percentage laggards in the 50-scrip Nifty basket at the time were IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC, Zee Entertainment and Axis Bank, trading between 2.8 per cent and 4 per cent lower.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, Wipro, Cipla, Dr Reddy's and Infosys - up between 0.61 per cent and 0.93 per cent - were the top Nifty gainers. Wipro was trading higher by 0.8 per cent at Rs 229 ahead of its June quarter results scheduled later in the day.
Meanwhile, official data on Monday showed retail inflation worsened to 6.09 per cent in June from 5.84 per cent in March, as the government released a headline figure after a gap of two months.
In the bullion markets, gold prices slid below the 49,000 mark in early trades, tracking a decline in global markets and profit-taking at higher levels. On the MCX, gold futures were down 0.5 per cent to 48,912 per 10 gram, after rising 0.55 per cent in the previous session.
On the currency front, the rupee opened 15 paise lower at 75.34 per dollar against previous close of 75.19 amid broad-based selling pressure in the equity markets.
The prices of petrol and diesel were unchanged on Tuesday. The price of petrol stood at Rs 80.43 per litre in Delhi and Rs 87.19 per litre in Mumbai, and that of diesel was at Rs 81.05 per litre and Rs 79.27 per litre respectively.
The NSE market breadth was weak. Out of 2,152 stocks traded on the NSE, there were 444 advancing stocks as against 1,245 declines.
