Sensex gives up 631-pt gain to end in red, Nifty drops near 15,800

Domestic benchmark indices resumed their decline after a day's hiatus dragged by selling pressure in IT, auto and banking counters. Global currencies also fell against the US dollar, reigniting worries about the health of the economies.

Frontline indices erased over 1 per cent gains and settled with minor cuts, with the 30 share pack Sensex, settling 100 points lower at 53,134. Its broader peer, Nifty50, ended the session near the 15,800 mark.

22 stocks from the Nifty pack rose while 28 fell. HDFC Life and ITC were top losers, falling around 2 per cent each. Wipro, Maruti, Britannia also settled with minor cuts. IT stocks were also weak ahead of Q1 earnings, Nifty IT was the top sectoral loser of today's session.

On the other hand, Shree Cement, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Apollo Hospital settled with gains of over 1 per cent each.

"Domestic market had started strong by extending yesterday’s gains supported by strong macro numbers but global bourses opened on a weak note. This led to marginal losses in domestic indices,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The current trend in the global market indicates that the uncertainties around recession and tightening monetary policy continues to haunt investors’ confidence. Dollar index opened sharply high affecting the performance of emerging currencies, depreciating INR, he noted.

Broader markets mirrored main indices and also settled with minor cuts.

Market at a glance:
- RBL Bank slipped over 6% following weak Q1 updates
- Spicejet fell 2.8% after the Delhi-Dubai flight made an emergency landing in Karachi
- LIC adds over 1% as Motilal Oswal initiates coverage with 'Buy'
- MMTC shares rallied up to 10% on the transfer of stake in Neelachal Ispat Nigam
- ONGC snaps losing streak, ends with a minor gain of 1%
- Rupee plunges by 41 paise to record low of 79.36 vs dollar

Index Statistics
Market breadth was neutral as advance-decline ratio was at 1:1, according to BSE.

About 1,714 shares advanced, 1,569 declined and 160 shares remained unchanged. 77 stocks tested their 52-week highs during the session, whereas 3 others tested their 52-week lows. 13 stocks hit their upper circuit limit, while 3 stocks were locked in the lower circuit.

Global Markets
Markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Shanghai settled marginally lower. European bourses were trading in the negative territory in mid-session deals. The euro tumbled 0.9 per cent against the dollar to $1.0325, its weakest since December 2002. Versus the Swiss franc, it dropped 0.7 per cent to 0.9941 francs, its lowest since 2015. US stock futures were lower early on Tuesday morning after the major averages finished another losing week.