Nifty: Market Watch: Mid and smallcaps fare better than Nifty | The Economic Times Podcast

Benchmark indices settled lower on Tuesday, tracking weakness across global markets, as investors across the world were cautious about several factors, including the new Covid variant in China, the start of earnings season and euro-dollar parity for the first time since 2002.

Weakness in the rupee also dampened sentiment as traders positioned themselves for hot inflation data due later in the day.

Dragged by broad-based selling across sectors, the 30-share pack Sensex ended nearly 1 per cent lower at 53,887. The index settled below 54,000 after four sessions. Its broader peer, Nifty50, also fell by a similar magnitude but managed to hold the 16,000 mark. Forty-four stocks from the Nifty50 pack settled with cuts while six ended higher.

Eicher Motors was the top loser from the 50-pack index, falling over 3 per cent. Hindalco, Infosys, BPCL and Grasim also ended over 2 per cent lower. Bucking the trend, NTPC shares settled 1.6 per cent higher, while Bharti Airtel, Hero Moto, Adani Ports and Coal India managed to end mildly above the flatline.

HCL Tech settled 2 per cent lower ahead of earnings as Street anticipates a disappointing Q1 performance from the tech major.

Most sectoral indices fell over 1 per cent, barring Nifty Energy and Realty. Nifty Metal, Auto, and IT were the worst performers in today’s session. Broader markets, meanwhile, performed better than the benchmark, with midcap and smallcap indices falling 0.5 per cent each.

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