Sensex recovers 421 pts from day's low, ends flat; Nifty settles at 13,568

After remaining in the negative territory for most part of the session, the domestic equity market managed to settle flat with a positive bias on Tuesday amid buying in select financial and information technology (IT) counters. 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 46,263, up 10 points, or 0.02 per cent while NSE's Nifty settled at 13,568, up 10 points, or 0.07 per cent. During the session, Sensex hit a high and low of 46,350.30 and 45,841.67 levels, respectively. 

HDFC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and HCL Tech were the major contributors to the Sensex's recovery today. Bajaj Finance (up 4.7 per cent) was the biggest gainer on Sensex while HUL (down over 2 per cent) emerged as the top loser. 

Moreover, Bajaj Finance entered the elite club of companies with a market capitalisation (market-cap) of Rs 3 trillion after the company's stock price hit a new high. The stock ended at Rs 5,128 on the BSE.

Volatilty index, India VIX, ended at 19.3 levels, down 0.29 per cent. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index outperformed the frontline indices as it gained 0.42 per cent to 17,733.87 while SmallCap index ended flat at 17,696 points. 

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Media gained the most - up 1.79 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal and Nifty Financial Services indices (both up 0.77 per cent). 

Global markets

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as worries about increasing Covid-19 deaths and lockdowns overshadowed optimism about the roll-out of coronavirus vaccinations, just days after indexes hit record highs. 

In Europe, shares traded flat as rising Covid cases forced tighter curbs across the continent, denting optimism from vaccine roll-outs and hopes of an eventual Brexit trade deal.

(With inputs from Reuters)