The Indian stock market witnessed a muted session on Tuesday. The BSE Sensex settled the session near 85,500, declining almost 50 points, while the NSE Nifty50 ended trading at 26,177, inching up 5 points.
On the 30-share Sensex, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, and NTPC emerged among the gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included Infosys, Tech M, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, and Sun Pharma.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap250 index climbed 0.42 per cent. Sectorally, the IT index stood out in red and bled 0.80 per cent. On the other hand, the Financial Services Ex-Bank index surged 0.80 per cent.
Both benchmarks slipped into the red this morning as losses in information technology stocks weighed on sentiment. The weakness followed a revival in artificial intelligence-linked stocks on Wall Street, which triggered profit-taking in domestic IT counters.
At around 9.30 AM, the Sensex was down 159 points at 85,407, while the Nifty slipped 32 points to 26,139.
Key Near-Term Drivers in Focus
Market participants highlighted two factors likely to influence near-term market direction: positive domestic macroeconomic indicators and the revival of the AI trade globally.
According to analysts, favourable macro fundamentals could encourage bulls to attempt fresh record highs on the Sensex and Nifty. However, the resurgence of AI-driven trades overseas could act as a mild external headwind, potentially delaying the expected reversal in foreign institutional investor flows.
Defence stocks were seen staging a recovery, with analysts suggesting that the segment still offers room for further upside. The IT sector, despite Tuesday’s weakness, has also shown signs of resilience in recent sessions, they added.
