Sensex falls 184 points, Nifty settles at 17,660; YES Bank rises 10%; Tata Chem drops 6%

Domestic equity markets extended their weakness for the second straight session as the benchmark indices settled lower on Tuesday. Bears had an upper hand over bulls after a stiff tug of war during the trading session, shrugging the positive cues from the global markets.

Global markets struggled to make much headway on Tuesday as investors weighed Chinese data that pointed to an uneven recovery, as well as the possibility of further policy tightening by the Federal Reserve and other central banks amidst mixed corporate earnings data.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex dropped 183.74 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 59,727.01, while NSE's Nifty50 declined 46.70 points, or 0.26 per cent to 17,660.15. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled in green. Fear gauge India VIX dropped about 2 per cent to 12.08-level.

On daily charts, the Nifty has managed to hold the 100-EMA, which is currently around 17,625. Nifty has seen a good profit booking in the last two days, 17,600-17,550 is a critical support level, said Ameya Ranadive CMT, CFTe, Equity Research Analyst at Choice Broking. "If this level is maintained, we may see a slight rebound up to 17,850-17,900," he said.

On a sectoral front, Nifty Financial Services, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Media indices were among the biggest losers. Among the gainers, Nifty Pharma index surged 2 per cent, while Nifty Realty, PSU Bank and Healthcare indices added about a per cent, each.

In the Nifty50 pack, Power Grid emerged as the biggest loser, falling more than 2 per cent. Ultratech Cement and Adani Enterprises were also down 2 per cent each. Apollo Hospitals, Titan Company, Adani Ports, Reliance, Britannia Industries and Bajaj Auto also shed over a per cent, each.

Among the gainers, Divis Labs rallied 3 per cent after positive brokerage reports. HCL Technologies, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, Wipro and Nestle India jumped 2 per cent, each. Dr Reddys, Coal India and Eicher Motors added a per cent, each, for the day.

The banking stocks pared their performance during the day while the market was grappling with the sell-off in the IT sector. However, the IT sector experienced a marginal relief rally, aided by bottom fishing, as the recent correction has made the sector attractive for long-term investment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The pharma sector also bucked the negative trend due to an improvement in outlook along with strong movements in mid and small-cap stocks," he said.

A total of 3,653 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 1,910 settled with gains. 1,623 stocks ended the session lower, while 120 shares remained unchanged. A total of 249 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 114 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Tata Chemicals plunged over 6 per cent after the chemical firm declined slashed soda ash prices. Brightcom Group hit a lower circuit of 5 per cent for another session after Sebi's action. Crisil dropped over 4 per cent after muted Q4 earnings.

On the contrary, YES Bank rallied about 10 per cent to Rs 16.48 ahead of its March 2023 quarter earnings on Saturday. Sobha gained about 8 per cent over low-level buying, while Graphite India was up 7 per cent. IRCON International and Lupin rose 6 per cent, each, for the day.

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