The Indian equity market closed marginally lower on Tuesday, October 27, with the Sensex falling 8.08 points and the Nifty declining 3.45 points. Selling in information technology stocks and pressure from rising crude oil prices weighed on the benchmark indices, while buying in real estate, pharmaceuticals and media stocks supported broader market performance.
The market remained volatile throughout the session. After opening lower, the Sensex and Nifty recovered their initial losses as buying emerged in select heavyweight stocks and sectors. However, profit-taking at higher levels prevented the indices from sustaining their gains. Both benchmarks ended the session nearly flat.
Despite weakness in large-cap stocks, mid-cap and small-cap shares attracted buying interest. Investors remained focused on crude oil prices and the US interest rate decision.
The BSE Sensex closed at 73,598.67, down 8.08 points, or 0.01%. The NSE Nifty 50 ended at 22,749.75, declining 3.45 points, or 0.02%.
Both indices came under pressure during early trading before recovering some losses. However, selling at higher levels limited the recovery. During the session, the Sensex fell approximately 450 points from its intraday high.
Following Monday's market rally, Tuesday's marginal decline reflected continued caution among investors over making large-scale purchases.
Several stocks advanced despite the subdued performance of the benchmark indices. Tata Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel, Trent, BSE Ltd and Power Grid Corporation were among the leading gainers in the Nifty.
Tata Consumer Products shares benefited from the company's quarterly results. The company reported an increase in both profit and revenue for the July-September quarter.
On the other hand, Grasim Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Coal India, TCS and Asian Paints declined. Selling in these heavyweight stocks restricted the benchmark indices' ability to advance. Weakness in the IT sector also weighed on the Nifty.
Sectoral performance varied considerably during Tuesday's session. The Nifty Media index advanced approximately 3.6%, placing it among the best-performing sectoral indices.
Real estate and pharmaceutical stocks also recorded buying interest, with both sectoral indices gaining approximately 2% each. The automobile index closed around 1% higher.
In contrast, the IT, oil and gas, and private banking indices declined by approximately 0.5% each. Despite limited buying in large-cap stocks, investors continued to show interest in selected mid-cap and small-cap shares.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices, which ended the session nearly unchanged. The Nifty Midcap index gained approximately 0.6%, while the Smallcap index advanced around 2.7%.
The gains indicated that buying activity extended beyond large-cap stocks, with investors also purchasing shares of selected small and mid-sized companies.
However, gains recorded in a single trading session do not guarantee that the upward movement will continue. Small-cap stocks can also experience greater price fluctuations than larger companies.
