Sensex Nifty LIVE COVID-19 Updates: Sensex, Nifty End Volatile Session Lower; IT Stocks Buck Trend

Sensex Ends Volatile Session Marginally Lower; IT Stocks Buck Trend

Selling pressure in banking, metal and pharma counters offset buying in IT shares

Domestic stock markets ended a volatile session on Tuesday with mild losses, as selling pressure in banking, metal and pharmaceutical counters offset buying interest in IT shares. The S&P BSE Sensex index traded in a range of 436.73 points, between 38,309.75 and 38,746.48, staying positive territory for most of the session. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark moved within a range of 11,307.80-11,437.25, swinging between gains and losses compared to its previous close of 11,355.05.

Here are 10 things to know about the markets today:

The Sensex ended 51.88 points - or 0.14 per cent - lower at 38,365.35, and the Nifty settled at 11,317.35, down 37.70 points - or 0.33 per cent - from its previous close.
Bharti Infratel, Zee Entertainment and Tata Motors, closing between 4.45 per cent and 8.14 per cent lower, were the worst hit among the 37 losers in the 50-scrip Nifty basket. On the other hand, Bharat Petroleum, HCL Tech and Infosys, ending between 1.41 per cent and 2.75 per cent higher, were the top gainers in the index.
Market breadth was highly negative, with an advance-decline ratio of almost 1:2, as 976 stocks on the BSE closed higher against 1,719 that finished in the negative zone.
Analysts say renewed concerns that recovery from the coronavirus pandemic may not be so soon hurt market sentiment.
The country's economy is projected to contract 11.8 per cent in the current fiscal year, before bouncing back in the next fiscal year, said credit ratings agency India Ratings and Research - an arm of the US-based Fitch Group. (Also Read: Rating Agencies Say India's GDP To Shrink Up To 11.8% In 2020-21)
The National Stock Exchange's India VIX index - which gauges the expectation of volatility in the near term - settled 3.24 per cent higher for the day, having risen as much as 4.84 per cent during the session.
The Nifty Bank index - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - ended 0.87 per cent lower, dragged by State Bank of India and Axis Bank, which closed down 2.21 per cent and 3.50 per cent respectively.
Late on Monday, the RBI outlined guidelines for restructuring loans for banks, as the sector braces for a surge in bad loans amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Broader Asian shares registered mild gains, on optimism around a recovery from the damage caused by the pandemic. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan recovered early losses to rise 0.06 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark moved up 0.80 per cent. The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last seen down 0.78 per cent, indicating a negative start for Wall Street on Tuesday, following a day's public holiday.
European shares started the day on a weak note, with the United Kingdom's FTSE benchmark index down 0.27 per cent in early trade. France's CAC and Germany's DAX indices traded 1.38 per cent and 0.95 per cent lower respectively at the time, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting due this week.