Sensex, Nifty Tumble For Third Straight Session As Geopolitical Concerns Unsettle Investors: Market Wrap

India's benchmark stock indices extended losses for the third consecutive session on Tuesday as geopolitical concerns weighed on investor sentiments. The indices were dragged by banks and information technology stocks, especially Infosys Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. The NSE Nifty 50 settled 124.6 points or 0.56%, lower at 22,147.9 and the S&P BSE Sensex declined 456.1 points or 0.62%, to end at 72,943.68.

The Nifty hit an intraday low of 22,079.49, and the Sensex touched 72,685.03 earlier in the session.

There was no relief for the bulls as the index commenced the session lower but as the day progressed, a relief rally was seen, according to Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares. "However, another round of selling dragged the index further lower but towards the end."

The Indian rupee recorded its lowest-ever level against the US dollar on Tuesday. The domestic currency weakened 9 paise intraday to close at Rs 83.54 against the US dollar. The yield on the 10-year bond was trading 0.25% higher at 7.19%.

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region ended lower on Tuesday, even after China's GDP beat expectations to expand at 5.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 2.12%, while S&P ASX closed lower by 1.81%.

Brent crude was trading 0.06% lower at $90.05 a barrel. Gold was lower by 0.54% at $2,370.57 an ounce.

If Bank Nifty sustains above the 47,500–47,400 range, it could experience a pullback towards the 48,000 level, according to Kunal Shah, senior technical and derivative analyst at LKP Securities. "However, a break below 47,300 on a closing basis might trigger further selling pressure, potentially driving the index down towards the 46,500 level."

Shares of Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Bajaj Finance Ltd. were negatively contributing to changes in the Nifty.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Titan Co. and Eicher Motors Ltd. added positively to the index.

The sectors on the NSE ended mixed, with the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty IT declining the most. Nifty Media and Nifty Oil and Gas rose the most by 1.74% and 0.77%, respectively.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE MidCap ended 0.20% higher and the SmallCap settled 0.58% higher.

A quick recovery from the lower levels helped the mid- and small-caps outperform the Nifty 50, Gaggar said. "A reversal can be expected as the index has formed a spinning top candlestick pattern at its long-term trendline support, which is coupled with a 50DMA."

On the BSE, 10 sectors declined and 10 advanced out of 20. The BSE IT sector was the worst-performing sector and the oil and gas sector emerged as the top-performing sector.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers as 2,256 stocks advanced, 1,565 declined and 112 remained unchanged on the BSE.