Indian equity benchmarks ended Tuesday’s session with modest losses as sharp gains in IT and realty stocks were offset by weakness in FMCG and financial shares. Renewed volatility in global technology stocks also weighed on investor sentiment.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.04% lower at 23,987, while the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.07% to 76,779. The broader market, however, ended on a mixed note.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT emerged as the top performer, surging 3.28%, while Nifty Realty and Nifty Consumer Durables gained more than 1% each. On the downside, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Chemicals, and Nifty PSU Bank fell over 1% each. Nifty Metal, Nifty Cement, and Nifty Media also ended in the red.
Meanwhile, Asian markets closed sharply lower, led by South Korea’s Kospi, which plunged 11% amid a sell-off in heavyweight technology stocks SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
In the commodities market, Brent crude extended Monday’s steepest decline in more than three months, falling another 1.3% to around $87.25 a barrel.
Oil prices came under pressure after the United States paused its daily strikes on Iran and President Donald Trump said there was a “good chance” of reaching a deal with Tehran. Trump reportedly said he decided to suspend the strikes to give diplomatic negotiations another opportunity.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “The respite in crude oil prices provided relief to markets by easing concerns over inflation and input cost pressures. However, investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of key central bank policy meetings this week, including those of the Fed, BoE, and BoJ. Persistent volatility in energy markets and heightened geopolitical risks could keep global bond yields elevated this year.”
Strong earnings drive IT, realty and select financial stocks higher
Coforge emerged as the top performer in the Nifty 500 index, surging 10.3% to ₹1,686 apiece after investors cheered the company’s better-than-expected June quarter performance. Affle 3i also rallied 9.3% to ₹1,631, supported by a sharp spike in trading volumes.
Stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings also lifted Lodha Developers, whose shares jumped 8.6% to ₹1,301 apiece. City Union Bank reacted positively to its quarterly results, climbing 7.5% to ₹238. Meanwhile, Kalyan Jewellers witnessed renewed buying interest, advancing 7.7% to ₹608 apiece and snapping a three-session losing streak.
Hexaware Technologies, Gallantt Ispat, eClerx Services, and TCS were among the other top gainers, rising more than 5% each. Swiggy and Eternal also attracted strong buying interest, with both stocks gaining over 4%.
The rally extended to the broader IT space, with mid- and small-cap technology stocks such as Newgen Software, Tata Technologies, Mphasis, Persistent Systems, KPIT Technologies, and LTIMindtree advancing more than 3% each. Among FMCG stocks, Nestlé India and Marico gained 3.2% and 3%, respectively.
