India's equity markets finished in negative territory on Tuesday, with the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex 30 both recording modest declines as weakness in IT, technology and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) shares pressured benchmark levels.
At the close on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 was down 0.34%. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex 30 slipped 0.33%.
Among Nifty names, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (NSE:MRTI) was the session's top gainer, advancing 5.50% or 737.00 points to finish at 14,149.00. Titan Company Ltd (NSE:TITN) added 3.41% or 145.90 points to close at 4,423.10, and Adani Enterprises Ltd (NSE:ADEL) rose 2.72% or 80.60 points to end the day at 3,043.10.
On the downside, Eicher Motors Ltd. (NSE:EICH) led decliners, dropping 4.39% or 326.00 points to 7,100.00 at the close. Tata Consumer Products Ltd (NSE:TACN) declined 3.58% or 39.80 points to 1,073.00, while Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (NSE:TCS) slipped 3.09% or 64.90 points to end at 2,033.00.
Turning to the BSE, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (BO:MRTI) rose 5.33% to 14,144.45, and Titan Company Ltd (BO:TITN) gained 3.29% to settle at 4,421.00. Bajaj Finance Ltd (BO:BJFN) also posted a notable advance, up 2.47% to close at 1,006.55.
Among the BSE laggards, Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) was down 3.05% to 1,005.20, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS) lost 3.01% to finish at 2,033.90 and HCL Technologies Ltd (BO:HCLT) declined 2.82% to 1,072.00 at the close.
Market breadth on the National Stock Exchange showed more rising issues than fallers, with 1,495 stocks advancing, 1,030 declining and 63 ending unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,229 stocks rose, 1,740 fell and 174 were unchanged.
Several large-cap IT names hit multi-year lows during the session. Shares of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (NSE:TCS) fell to 5-year lows, down 3.09% or 64.90 to 2,033.00. Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) also moved to 5-year lows, losing 3.05% or 31.60 to 1,005.20. Separately on the BSE, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS) was reported at a 5-year low after falling 3.01% or 63.05 to 2,033.90. HCL Technologies Ltd (BO:HCLT) reached 3-year lows, down 2.82% or 31.15 to 1,072.00.
Volatility on the Nifty options market eased slightly as the India VIX was down 0.97% to 13.48.
Commodity and currency moves were mixed. Gold Futures for August delivery were up 0.08% or 3.30 to $4,042.20 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for August delivery fell 0.08% or 0.06 to $70.69 a barrel, while the September Brent contract rose 0.03% or 0.02 to trade at $73.93 a barrel.
On the currency front, USD/INR was up 0.22% at 94.75 and EUR/INR fell 0.14% to 107.88. The US Dollar Index Futures strengthened 0.24% to 101.12.
The session closed with a dispersion between sector winners and losers, as select auto and consumer discretionary stocks outperformed while large-cap IT and certain technology-related names weighed on the broader market.