Sensex, Nifty halt 2-day gaining streak, end flat; all bank stocks except HDFC Bank end in red

Domestic benchmark indices ended flat on Tuesday morning, halting their two-day gaining spree. S&P BSE Sensex ended 8 points or 0.02% lower at 37,973.22 points while the Nifty 50 finished trading at 11,222 points. Ultratech Cement shares jumped over 3%, followed by TCS, and Tata Steel gaining over 2.5%. It was a volatile trading session that saw the benchmarks start with significant gains and then slip to trade with losses, only to end flat later on. Only HDFC and HDFC Bank were the two banking and finance sector stocks to end with gains, rest all closed with losses.

Banking stocks slip: IndusInd Bank shares were down 3.37% while Axis Bank stock dropped 2.8% on Sensex. ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank all ended with losses. On the S&P BSE Bankex index, only HDFC Bank and City Union Bank ended with gains. S&P BSE Finance index was down 0.40% with Bank of Baroda falling over 4%.

Global watch: Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday with Shanghai Composite ended with gains while Hang Seng slipped. In Japan too, Nikkei 225 ended with gains while TOPIX ended in the red. “After a gap up opening, the benchmark indices grew volatile, before ending the day flat. Global markets were also undecided and slightly negative for the day as the outcome of the first US presidential debate was awaited. With increasing infections and chances of location-specific lockdowns, Indian indices were also uncertain,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. 

Top gainers: Ultratech Cement shares surged 3% on Tuesday followed by TCS and Tata Steel making them the top Sensex gainers. On BSE Midcap, Crompton Greaves was the top gainer surging 7.42%, Adani Green shares jumped 5%. Among BSE Smallcap constituents GATI Lts surged 14.72%, followed by Gufic Biosciences and KPR Mill. 

Drags: ONGC’s 3.82% drop made it the worst Sensex performer followed by IndusInd Bank. On BSE Midcap, Vodafone Idea and BHEL were down nearly 5% each. Sadhana Nitrochem was the top drag among BSE Smallcap constituents. 

Rupee slides again: The Indian Rupee slid yet again. “The primary reasons for the depreciation in the rupee could be month-end dollar buying. The dollar index was trading steadily against the basket of currencies. RBI postponing its monetary policy later this week also had a bearing on Rupee,” said Nish Bhatt, Founder & CEO, Millwood Kane International.

Technical take: “We were unable to get past the 11300-11350 levels on a closing basis. It is only above these levels that the markets might turn bullish. Until then, there is scope for a reversal and for the Nifty to fall and endeavor the levels of 10700-10800,” said Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.