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The Sensex eased 13.53 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 82,186.81, while the Nifty slipped 29.80 points, or 0.12%, to close at 25,060.90.
Top Gainers & Losers
Reliance Industries Ltd shares fell 1.1% on the day, extending Monday’s 3.2% decline, as continued weakness in its oil-to-chemicals and retail divisions weighed on investor sentiment.
Meanwhile, shares of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, surged as much as 15% to a record high before closing 10.6% higher, after the company indicated that margins in its quick commerce business may have bottomed out, signalling easing competitive pressures and the prospect of a turnaround. Eternal was the single biggest contributor to benchmark gains during the session.
The upbeat commentary also buoyed sentiment around rival Swiggy, whose shares rose 5.4%.
Financials extended their recent rally, led by India’s two largest private-sector lenders, though much of the momentum faded by the close. ICICI Bank gained 0.5%, while HDFC Bank edged 0.3% higher, adding to Monday’s gains following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index declined 0.5%, dragged lower by losses in Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Oracle Financial Services, which fell between 0.6% and 1.2%.Broader market sentiment remained subdued, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices retreating 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
Expert Views
“Markets attention is on quarterly earnings, which slowed lately after some traction from banking stocks,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, adding that the positivity noticed on Friday and Monday tapered ahead the critical August 1st deadline of U.S. trade agreement.
Upside in Q1 earnings will be the critical point to sustain the current premium valuations, said Nair, adding that “continued profit booking by the FIIs exerts downward pressure, while steady inflows from DIIs could support for a range-bound movement with a positive bias towards Q1 results and trade deal.”
On a technical basis, the Nifty has remained mostly range-bound, facing resistance at the 21-EMA during the initial trades, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that on the hourly chart, the index failed to move above the 50-EMA.
“Overall, consolidation may continue in the coming days, as the index is not showing any signs of a breakout from the current trading zone. On the lower end, 24,900 continues to act as strong support, while resistance is placed at 25,260 — a breakout above which could lead to increased strength in the market,” said De.
