Indian Markets Close In Red As Weak Asian Cues And Profit Booking Weigh On Sentiment

Indian equity benchmarks ended slightly lower on Tuesday after investors booked profits in the latter half of the trading session, with weak cues from Asian markets and caution ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve's meeting minutes weighing on sentiment. Despite the broader weakness, IT stocks outperformed on optimism surrounding the upcoming June-quarter earnings season.

Profit booking, weak Asian cues weigh on markets

The NSE Nifty 50 settled at 24,398.70, down 31.65 points or 0.13 per cent, while the BSE Sensex closed at 78,180.72, falling 104.35 points or 0.13 per cent.

Market participants turned cautious as they tracked losses across major Asian markets while awaiting the US Federal Reserve's meeting minutes for further clues on the global interest rate outlook.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, "Profit booking emerged in the latter half of the session as weakness across Asian markets and investor caution ahead of the US Fed minutes weighed on sentiment. However, IT stocks continued to lend support, extending gains ahead of the June-quarter earnings season as the sector recovered from recent corrections."

He added, "With concerns surrounding the US-Iran conflict and trade tariffs easing, market attention is now shifting towards Q1FY27 corporate earnings and the progress of the monsoon."

According to Nair, improving foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a stable rupee are expected to provide near-term support to the broader market.

IT shines while broader market remains under pressure

Among the NSE sectoral indices, Nifty IT emerged as the lone gainer, rising 2.43 per cent on expectations of a stronger June-quarter earnings season.

All other major sectoral indices closed in negative territory. Nifty Realty fell 1.73 per cent, Nifty Metal declined 1.14 per cent, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.76 per cent, Nifty Media lost 0.75 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank dropped 0.47 per cent and Nifty Auto edged down 0.12 per cent.

Within the Nifty 50, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, SBI Life Insurance and Titan were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Trent, Adani Enterprises, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Adani Ports, Max Healthcare and TMPV figured among the biggest losers.

Crude rises as Asian markets mostly decline

Brent crude oil prices rose 1.18 per cent to USD 72.86 per barrel at the time of filing.

Asian equities largely remained under pressure through the session. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.61 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.83 per cent, Taiwan's weighted index dropped 2.37 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 5 per cent. Singapore's Straits Times bucked the regional trend, gaining 1.57 per cent.

Investors are now expected to closely monitor the release of the US Fed minutes, the upcoming Q1FY27 corporate earnings season and the progress of the monsoon for further market direction.

(With inputs from ANI)