Equities end on flat note, Sensex rises 9.71 points

Indian equities ended flat on Tuesday. The Sensex rose 9.71 points (0.02%) to close at 46263.17, whereas Nifty rose 9.7 points (0.07%) to close at 13,567.85. Even as Asian markets ended in the red, domestic equities held up after the strong opening in the European markets.

The Asian markets remained under pressure with bourses in countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan declining between 0.19% and 1%. This is because the Asian markets remained cautious over the disagreements in the US Congress with respect to the fiscal aid that was being deliberated upon. European markets were trading higher on Tuesday on the hopes that there would be a Brexit trade deal. Markets in the United Kingdom, France and Germany were up between 0.01% and 0.7%. Deepak Jasani, head-retail research, HDFC Securities, said, “Asian shares retreated on Tuesday as investors waited to see if (US) Congress could break a logjam on delivering more aid.

European stocks edged higher early on Tuesday, as investors were hopeful of a Brexit trade deal but fearful of rising Covid-19 cases and tighter restrictions.”

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) till December 14 have pumped in nearly $4.4 billion into Indian equities. On Monday, provisional data showed that they bought stocks worth $301.9 million and domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth $229.4 million. The futures and options segment on Tuesday saw a turnover worth Rs 21.05 lakh crore and the cash market saw a turnover worth Rs 61795.8 crore. This is against the six month average of Rs 21.7 lakh crore in the futures and options segment as well as Rs 59,316 crore in the cash market segment.

Indian markets were helped on Tuesday by the buying in financial stocks such as Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv as well as HDFC twins but, the gains were capped by selling in stocks such as Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, and Hindustan Unilever. Besides, the markets were also helped by strong macroeconomic data such as the easing of CPI inflation figures. According to market experts, the central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold for the rest of fiscal year 2021.

Tanvee Gupta Jain, economist, UBS Securities India, said, “We think any room for further policy easing (25 basis points) will be dependent on either growth surprising significantly on the downside as well as inflationary pressures moderating significantly over the coming months on lower food prices.”

The biggest gainers on the Nifty, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel and Shree Cement, were up by 5.13%, 4.18%, 3.1%, 2.49%, and 2.11%, respectively. The biggest losers on the Nifty were Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, BPCL, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank — down by 2.07%, 2.05%, 1.76%, 1.73%, and 1.46%, respectively.