The Sensex eased 13.53 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 82,186.81, while the Nifty slipped 29.80 points, or 0.12%, to close at 25,060.90.
Top Gainers & Losers
Reliance Industries Ltd shares fell 1.1% on the day, extending Monday’s 3.2% decline, as continued weakness in its oil-to-chemicals and retail divisions weighed on investor sentiment.
Meanwhile, shares of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, surged as much as 15% to a record high before closing 10.6% higher, after the company indicated that margins in its quick commerce business may have bottomed out, signalling easing competitive pressures and the prospect of a turnaround. Eternal was the single biggest contributor to benchmark gains during the session.
The upbeat commentary also buoyed sentiment around rival Swiggy, whose shares rose 5.4%.
Financials extended their recent rally, led by India’s two largest private-sector lenders, though much of the momentum faded by the close. ICICI Bank gained 0.5%, while HDFC Bank edged 0.3% higher, adding to Monday’s gains following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index declined 0.5%, dragged lower by losses in Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Oracle Financial Services, which fell between 0.6% and 1.2%.Broader market sentiment remained subdued, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices retreating 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
Expert Views
“Markets attention is on quarterly earnings, which slowed lately after some traction from banking stocks,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, adding that the positivity noticed on Friday and Monday tapered ahead the critical August 1st deadline of U.S. trade agreement.
Upside in Q1 earnings will be the critical point to sustain the current premium valuations, said Nair, adding that “continued profit booking by the FIIs exerts downward pressure, while steady inflows from DIIs could support for a range-bound movement with a positive bias towards Q1 results and trade deal.”
On a technical basis, the Nifty has remained mostly range-bound, facing resistance at the 21-EMA during the initial trades, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that on the hourly chart, the index failed to move above the 50-EMA.
“Overall, consolidation may continue in the coming days, as the index is not showing any signs of a breakout from the current trading zone. On the lower end, 24,900 continues to act as strong support, while resistance is placed at 25,260 — a breakout above which could lead to increased strength in the market,” said De.
Global Markets
Asian equities pulled back on Tuesday after touching their highest levels in nearly four years, while European markets weakened as investors weighed ongoing tariff discussions between the US and key trading partners.
The Euro STOXX 600 slipped 0.4%, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 shedding 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan briefly rose to its highest level since October 2021 during early trading before giving up gains to close down 0.5%. The index remains up nearly 16% year-to-date.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index stood out, climbing 0.54% to close at 25,130, its strongest level since November 2021, buoyed by renewed optimism around China’s infrastructure push and expectations of fresh policy stimulus from Beijing. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Shenzhen Component advanced 0.84%.
Investor nerves were also rattled by lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence, amid speculation about whether U.S. President Donald Trump might seek to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Attention now turns to a slate of corporate earnings due later this week, with results expected from U.S. tech giants Alphabet and Tesla, alongside European bellwethers LVMH and Roche. Persistent uncertainty over trade tariffs continues to cast a shadow over the global outlook.
Crude Impact
Oil prices extended their decline for a third straight session on Tuesday, as escalating trade tensions between major crude consumers—the United States and the European Union—raised concerns over a potential slowdown in fuel demand growth amid weaker economic activity.
Brent crude slipped 49 cents, or 0.7%, to $68.72 a barrel by 09:15 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 60 cents, or 0.9%, to $66.60.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee declined for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, slipping 0.1% to close at 86.3675 against the US dollar, amid concerns over potential foreign outflows from domestic equities and uncertainty surrounding looming trade deal deadlines with the United States.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged 0.03% lower to 97.82.
(with impost from agencies)
