Closing Bell: Markets end lower amidst high volatility; metal stocks slip over 5 per cent

On Tuesday, the headline equity indices i.e. Sensex and Nifty ended on a lower note after gaining almost 0.50 per cent in the afternoon session. The European markets have opened in the green whereas the Rupee crossed the Rs 77 per dollar mark and is trading at Rs 77.33.

On Tuesday, the headline equity indices i.e. Sensex and Nifty ended on a lower note after gaining almost 0.50 per cent in the afternoon session.  

The European markets have opened in the green whereas the Rupee crossed the Rs 77 per dollar mark and is trading at Rs 77.33.  

At the time of market close, BSE Sensex was at 54,364.85, down by 105.82 points or 0.19 per cent. BSE Midcap index also ended at 22,242.76, up by 449.42 points or 1.98 per cent.  BSE Smallcap index closed at 26,078.58 levels, lower by 2.11 per cent.  

The Top Gainers on BSE Sensex today were Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, and Maruti Suzuki. On the other hand, the stocks of Tata Steel, Sun Pharmaceutical, NTPC, Titan Company, and Bajaj Finance turned out to be the Top Losers.     

On the other hand, Nifty 50 fell by 61.80 points or 0.38 per cent and closed at the 16,240.05 level. Likewise, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were also down by 1.87 per cent & 2.24 per cent, respectively. On the contrary, Bank Nifty was up by 0.60 per cent and was at the 34,482.65 level.  

The top gaining stocks on Nifty 50 were Eicher Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, and UltraTech Cement. The stocks losing the most were Coal India, Tata Steel, ONGC, JSW Steel, and Hindalco Industries.  

The total stocks traded on BSE today were 3,487, out of which, 879 advanced while 2,476 stocks declined. There were 132 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 11 while five stocks closed in the lower circuit today. Around 57 stocks touched a fresh 52-week high while 146 stocks hit a new 52-week low today.  

All of the sectors ended in the red wherein, the metal sector plunged more than 5 per cent. Power, energy, oil & gas, realty, and the utilities sector were down in the range of 2 per cent to 4 per cent each.