Market Fluctuates Ahead Of Interim Budget, Fed Meet, Q3 Earnings

The Indian stock market concluded in red territory in the Tuesday trading session. Investors are cautious as market volatility persists due to scheduled events like the interim budget, corporate earnings and the US Fed meeting to decide rate cuts.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 index dipped 215 points or 0.99 per cent at 21,522, whereas the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex settled 1.11 per cent or 891 points lower at 71,139 levels after the closing bell. 

In the Nifty50 index, Bharat Petroleum traded highest with 2.34 per cent gains chased by Tata Motors with 2.12 per cent gains. Grasim Industries also gained more than 1 per cent post its successful rights issue. Overall, 36 stocks advanced in the index. 

In the laggard segment, 14 stocks declined with Bajaj Finance leading the loss of 5.21 per cent after the firm’s disappointing quarterly results. Whereas, Titan and UltraTech Cement slipped 3.39 per cent and 3.02 per cent respectively. Bajaj Finserv and NTPC also dipped nearly 3 per cent on the index. 

Analyst View
“Selling intensified towards the fag end as investors further slashed their positions in key stocks ahead of the budget, while weakness in several Asian indices also contributed to the overall fall. With just one day left for the budget, investors want to play it safe although there would not be any big-bang announcements by the government in this budget,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Focus would rather shift to US Fed policy but indications are that it may maintain the status quo on interest rates, which could unsettle investors further, added Tapse.

Sectoral Movement
In terms of sector performance, FMCG slumped more than 1 per cent followed by weakness in Pharma, Finance and IT. Conversely, Metals, Realty and PSU Banks traded with decent gains.

Besides, the more domestically focussed indices, mid-cap traded 0.39 per cent lower, while small-cap index gained 0.23 per cent.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Zee Entertainment rose 5.66 per cent, while Hindustan Petroleum rose 4.29 per cent. LIC Housing Finance and Jindal Steel jumped 2.89 per cent and 2.11 per cent respectively. Conversely, Trent tumbled 5.90 per cent and Persistent Systems lost 3.05 per cent.