Mumbai, May 2 (IANS) Global cues on Tuesday depressed the Indian equity markets to close on a flat-to-positive note.
According to market observers, investors were cautious ahead of the two-day US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet which is scheduled to commence on late Tuesday evening.
Besides, sentiments were subdued by heavy selling pressure witnessed in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel, along with outflow of foreign funds.
The barometer 30-scrip BSE Sensitive index (Sensex) slipped below the psychologically important 30,000-point mark. However, the wider NSE Nifty retained its position above the 9,300-point level.
The 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) inched up by 9.75 points or 0.10 per cent to close at 9,313.80 points.
The BSE Sensex, which opened at 30,021.49 points, closed at 29,921.18 points -- up a tad 2.78 points or 0.01 per cent from its previous close at 29,918.40 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 30,069.24 points and a low of 29,804.12 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was bearish -- with 1,520 declines and 1,350 advances.
In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed up by 0.38 per cent, while the small-cap index rose by 0.31 per cent.
"After opening on a positive note, Nifty showed intra-day volatility for better part of the day and showed some upside recovery towards the end. Investors awaited more corporate earnings and the outcome of Federal Reserve policy meeting due Wednesday," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
"Asian markets have ended on a mixed note, while European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 are all trading in positive trend," he added.
Anand James, Chief Market Strategist of Geojit Financial Services, said: "Auto sales numbers boosted markets' returns from long weekend, but with global markets shaky ahead of FOMC meet, consolidation looks to continue."
"Positive vibes from core sector and PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) numbers should hold markets in good stead, and shall ensure that recent upside momentum is not lost amid consolidation."
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which is a composite indicator of manufacturing performance during April 2017, matched the index reading of 52.5 reported in March.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by three paise to 64.21-22 per US dollar from its previous close of 64.24-25 to a greenback.
In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 611.82 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased scrip worth Rs 541.39 crore.
Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, said the equity benchmark indices witnessed volatile trade and closed the session with marginal gains as investors booked profits at higher levels.
"Index heavyweights such as Reliance, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel witnessed selling pressure and pressurised the market sentiments. Most banking sector stocks witnessed firm price movement throughout the session," Desai told IANS.
"Power and telecom sector stocks traded down due to selling pressure. Along with IT, auto remained top performing sector on a positive side."
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE consumer durables index surged by 187.28 points, the oil and gas index rose by 151.13 points and the automobile index gained 121.44 points.
In contrast, the S&P BSE healthcare index fell by 116.76 points, the capital goods index was down by 99.47 points, and the metal index edged down by 64.52 points.
Major Sensex gainers on Tuesday were: ONGC, up 3.14 per cent at Rs 192.15; HDFC, up 2.99 per cent at Rs 1,582.95; Maruti Suzuki, up 2.76 per cent at Rs 6,705.65; Gail, up 1.46 per cent at Rs 429.95; and Bajaj Auto, up 1.28 per cent at Rs 2,904.95.
Major Sensex losers were: Lupin, down 2.49 per cent at Rs 1,304.45; Bharti Airtel, down 2 per cent at Rs 347.50; Reliance Industries, down 1.71 per cent at Rs 1,370.90; Sun Pharma, down 1.59 per cent at Rs 632.35; and NTPC, down 1.40 per cent at Rs 162.10.
Doraiah Chowdary Vundavally is a Software engineer at VTech . He is the news editor of SocialNews.XYZ and Freelance writer-contributes Telugu and English Columns on Films, Politics, and Gossips. He is the primary contributor for South Cinema Section of SocialNews.XYZ. His mission is to help to develop SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgement towards any.
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