Sensex erases morning gains to settle lower by 261 points

Taking cues from global indices, Sensex zoomed up during today’s morning trade, however, settled at the level of 31,453.51 by the end of the day, which is a drop by 261.84 points or 0.83 per cent than its previous close. Subsequently, Nifty fell by 0.95 per cent, which is 87.90 points to the level of 9,205.60.

Mainly, the shares of state-run banks witnessed a drop due to the concerns over asset quality. Besides, Monday’s Wall Street rally as well as easing down of lockdown restrictions, boosted the global indices on Tuesday, as Shanghai closed up by 1.33 per cent while, Hang Seng rose by 1.08 per cent. FTSE 100 opened in green, trading up by 1.15 per cent while, CAC 40 and DAX were up by 1.23 per cent and 1.28 per cent, respectively. Selling was seen in banking, metals and FMCG stocks. As domestic indices entered into a negative territory, fertiliser stocks became gainers during Tuesday’s trading session.

Sensex gainers included M&M-up by 3.12 per cent, Power Grid-up by 2.93 per cent, ONGC-up by 2.61 per cent, RIL gained by 1.78 per cent, NTPC closed up by 1.26 per cent, etc.

Sensex draggers were SBI as it closed down by 4.64 per cent, Bajaj Finance fell by 3.76 per cent, Asian Paints fell by 3.44 per cent, Axis Bank closed down by 3.38 per cent, ICICI Bank fell by 2.19 per cent, etc.

As for sectoral indices, Bankex was the biggest loser as the index fell by 2.39 per cent. Both Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices also witnessed a drop by 0.97 per cent each.