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See-saw trade: Markets end almost flat as investors exercise caution

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost flat in a see-saw trade on Tuesday as investors traded cautiously, awaiting cues from the US Federal Reserve’s policy stance.

Foreign fund outflows and elevated level of crude oil prices also weighed on the investor sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 29.07 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 66,355.71. During the day, it touched an intra-day peak of 66,559.29 and hit the lowest level of 66,177.62.

The NSE Nifty inched up by 8.25 points or 0.04 per cent to end at 19,680.60. The broader index moved between the range of 19,729.35 and 19,615.95.

“Indian indices hovered along the flat line, waiting ahead for the crucial decision of Fed policy. Metal stocks rose due to China’s commitment to provide policy support to its realty sector, while utilities were up in anticipation of demand & improvement in operating margin,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the previous two sessions, the indices have seen correction after reaching their lifetime peaks on Thursday. Nair attributed the correction in the market to lower-than expected quarterly performance of some bellwether companies, outflow of foreign funds and

stronger dollar.

“The recent correction of the domestic market can be attributed to several factors, including muted start to Q1 results, a reversal in FII activity, a rising dollar index, and an increase in crude oil prices,” he added.

From the Sensex pack, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NTPC and UltraTech Cement emerged as major winners, closing the day with a gain of up to 3.33 per cent.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, ITC, L&T and SBI were the laggards, ending the session up to 3.95 per cent lower.

BSE Midcap went up by 115.44 points or 0.39 per cent to 29,750.29, while Smallcap index inched up by 107.05 points or 0.31 per cent to 34,279.08 points.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Utilities gained the maximum by 3.36 per cent, followed by Metal (2.88 per cent), Power (2.69 per cent) and Commodities (1.55 per cent).

In contrast, FMCG fell 0.75 per cent, followed by Capital Goods 0.64 per cent, realty 40 per cent and Bankex 0.37 per cent.

The rupee pared initial gains to settle 7 paise lower at 81.88 against the US dollar on Tuesday, as elevated crude oil prices and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.

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