Equities snap four-day gaining streak; late Nifty rally trims losses

Stock market today: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday, snapping four straight sessions of gains amid mixed trend in the global market. While US market ended at record close, Asian markets ended on mixed note. The sharp upmove in the Nifty continued for the second session in closing deals on Tuesday.  In last five minutes of trade, Nifty surged 151 points from 24,463 to 24,614.90.

During closing on Monday too, the implementation of Closing Auction Session (CAS) led to a sharp divergence in the benchmark indices.

Sensex slipped 210 pts to 78428 and Nifty lost 159 pts to 24,614.90. Market cap of BSE listed firms stood at Rs 489.32 lakh crore.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said,"Fundamentally, the market participants remain focused on developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, as greater clarity and stability in the region could help ease crude oil prices and support a moderation in global bond yields. Meanwhile, the ongoing RBI policy meeting is being closely monitored amid global uncertainties and inflation concerns. Investors are looking for policy measures from the RBI to address these challenges, along with liquidity support for the banking system, which could help sustain market confidence in the near term."

Stocks such as Trent, Bajaj Finance, BEL, Tata Steel, M&M, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the top Sensex gainers today, rising up to 1.15%. HUL, NTPC, HDFC Bank, RIL and IndiGo were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.70%.

On the Sensex, Nifty divergence during closing session today, Vijaykumar said, "Tuesday’s weekly expiry, combined with the implementation of the new mechanism for determining F&O closing prices, has led to a distortion in market trends. The significant gap between the 3:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. closing prices of Nifty stocks and the index, along with the divergence with Sensex, suggests that the new system is not functioning as intended, resulting in heightened price volatility. This has triggered forced square-offs of positions, particularly among retail investors, ahead of the 15 minutes blind derivatives window closing session."

Previous session 

The 30-share BSE Sensex pack advanced 544.39 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 78,639.03. The broader NSE Nifty50 index climbed 390.70 points or 1.60 per cent to close at 24,774.30. The equity market extended its winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on Monday.