Setting off on a subdued note on Tuesday, Indian stock market indices faltered, erasing their initial uptick as market participants braced for the impending verdict from the Reserve Bank of India’s policy meet this week. Early trading hours saw the BSE Sensex backpedal, registering a dip of 231.58 points or 0.28% to reach 81,142.17 by 10:09 a.m. While initial trades had pushed it to a high of 81,492.50, the idecs quickly capitulated and plumbed a low of 80,948.20 during the morning session. This shift in tide occurred after Monday’s market close at 81,373.75.
A closer look at the market’s composition during the early hours of Tuesday trading paints a bleak picture on the BSE Sensex, with the scale tilted heavily towards seller-overbuyers. Seven market movers managed an upward trend while 23 recorded a downslide. The aggregate transactions constituted ?153.71 crore, with ‘advancers’ sharing ?67.90 crore and ‘decliners’ championing a larger slice at ?85.81 crore.
In the green landscape of Tuesday’s early trade, the torchbearers were Eternal, M&M, and HDFC Bank, gaining 0.89%, 0.81%, and 0.36% respectively. On the other side of the chasm, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance felt the heat, with L&T tumbling the most with a 1.17% loss.
The NSE Nifty 50 mirrored its co-index, opening with frailty as it shed 61.50 points or 0.25% to sit at 24,655.10 at 10:09 a.m. Starting the day at a seemingly promising 24,786.30, higher than its previous close at 24,716.60, the index quickly gave into market pressures. The Nifty 50 stumbled to a low of 24,601.30 during the morning trade, with the market breadth echoing the risk-averse sentiment amidst 39 declining and a mere 11 advancing shares.
Nitin Gadkari’s visionary approach towards redefining India’s highways to compete with global standards and foster sustainable mobility bears significant potential for the evolution of the country’s logistics horizon. Since 2014, his tenureship has witnessed an impressive influx of investments and a simplified project clearance process, leading to a substantial expansion of the national highway network.
This expansion, coupled with innovative funding avenues such as Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), foretells a transformative phase for India’s road infrastructure. On the trading floor, Eternal remained in pole position with an upward tick of 0.92% to ?243.41, attracted by considerable trading interest.
The company recorded a trading volume of over 247 lakh shares and a turnover of ?602 crore, validating its position as the top gainer and the most traded stock in terms of both volume and value. Following suit were M&M, Shriram Finance, Hindalco, and Grasim Industries, denoting a trend of targeted purchases in the auto, finance, and metal sector stocks.
Conversely, Coal India bore the brunt of the market sentiment, recording the steepest decline at 1.34%. Apollo Hospitals, Adani Ports, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also gripped by the selling flux. On the international trade front, the Indian rupee commenced at a softer tone, opening at 85.53 against the US dollar, a slide from Monday’s closing value of 85.38.
Global uncertainties hindering investor optimism were held accountable for the downwards trend. Notable corporate developments also took the stage, as shares of Ola Electric experienced a slump, down 7% to a low of ?49.83 on the NSE during the morning trading hours, following a major block trade resulting in the turnover of 3.2% equity.
This saw 14.22 crore shares amounting to ?731 crore reportedly change hands, each traded at ?51.4. Internationally, markets remained somewhat aloof. Asian shares floundered during the opening hours, presenting a mixed picture after Wall Street’s varying performance.