Mumbai. The local stock markets were volatile on Tuesday and the BSE Sensex was marginally up by 14 points. However, the Nifty reached its highest level of 25,017 points. The market remained stable due to profit booking amid rising tensions in West Asia and Ukraine. According to traders, profit booking in metal, durable consumer and daily use goods companies diluted the gains in telecom, technology and IT stocks.
The 30-share Sensex rose for the sixth consecutive trading session and closed at 81,711.76 points with a gain of 13.65 points or 0.02 percent. During trading, it went up to 81,919.11 points and came down to 81,600.51 points.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also closed at 25,017.75 points with a nominal gain of 7.15 points or 0.03 percent. This is the ninth consecutive session when the Nifty has been rising.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “With the market at a record high, investors booked profits. While the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting the policy rate in September has made the market sentiment positive, investors have also become cautious due to the recent tensions in West Asia and Ukraine along with high valuations and the rise in crude oil prices.” He said, “Recently there has been a change in the attitude of FIIs towards the domestic market. Apart from this, there is a possibility that the RBI will take initiative in line with the steps taken by the Federal Reserve. This is expected to boost the positive scenario in the near future.” Among the Sensex companies, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were the major gainers.
On the other hand, stocks that remained in loss include Hindustan Unilever, JSW Steel, Titan, NTPC and Tata Motors.
The BSE Midcap index, representing shares of mid-sized companies, rose 0.58 per cent, while the Smallcap index, which comprises shares of smaller companies, gained 0.50 per cent.
Prashant Tapase, Senior Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd. said, “Due to Janmashtami, investor participation was low and the market remained almost unchanged as compared to the previous close. Amid weak signals from the US market and sluggishness in other Asian markets, investors booked profits at the end of trading. This indicates that volatility will continue during trading amid the ongoing tension at the global level.”
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “There are both challenges and positive trends in the market. The challenges are related to the increasing tension in West Asia and Ukraine. The price of Brent crude has risen to above $81. On the other hand, the positive trend is due to the expectation of the US central bank Federal Reserve cutting the policy rate. This will also have a positive impact on other central banks including the Reserve Bank of India.”
In other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were in profit while South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite were in loss. There was a bullish trend in the major markets of Europe during the afternoon trade. Most of the US markets were in loss on Monday. According to stock market data, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 483.36 crore on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.84 percent to $ 80.75 per barrel. BSE Sensex rose 611.90 points on Monday while NSE Nifty was strong by 187.45 points.