Sensex, Nifty end volatile session flat; auto, IT stocks gain

After opening on strong footing Indian benchmark equity indices ended the day with marginal gains, as investor booked profits in banking, financials, FMCG and realty stocks. After touching a new peak of 53,057, Sensex ended at 52,588, up 14 points or 0.02%. The broader market index Nifty 50 settled 26 points or 0.17% higher at 15,772.

“Markets opened strong on the back of Global Cues & the pick up in the pace of vaccination. Tuesday’s trade saw hectic activity in stocks pertaining to the unlock theme. The broader market too was buoyant as investors piled on to paper stocks and smaller banks. Nearing 53,000 however, witnessed profit-taking across the board in afternoon trade,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Gainers & losers

Top gainers & losers of Sensex on June 22, 2021

Sectoral view

On the sectoral front, the Nifty Auto was the star of the day, closing 1.34% higher, followed by the Nifty IT  adding 0.55% and the Nifty Metal advancing 0.28%. Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank were marginally up by 0.09% and 0.06% respectively.

On the downside, the Nifty Realty slipped 0.68% whereas the Nifty Bank lost 0.36% and the Nifty FMCG declined about 0.21%.

Even the volatility index, VIX cooled off by 2.14% and ended at 14.73.

Broader market

The broader market however outperformed benchmark indices as the BSE MidCap index rose 0.33% at 22,493 and the BSE SmallCap index ended at 25,060 advancing 0.83%.

Market breadth remained positive as 1,195 stocks advanced on the BSE, while 745 declined and 321 remained unchanged.

Global markets

Most European shares declined while most Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday, 22 June 2021, searching for direction after Wall Street arrested the slide triggered by a hawkish turn from the US Federal Reserve.

Back in Europe, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde gave markets a boost on Monday by offering an optimistic outlook for the eurozone economy and noting that the bloc is “clearly in a different situation” to the U.S. with regard to inflation.

Britain will on Tuesday commence negotiations to join a trans-Pacific trade accord that the government sees as critical to its post-Brexit future. Comprising Japan, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile and Malaysia, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will erase 95% of tariffs on goods and services between members.

US stocks rallied on Monday as investors piled back into energy and other sectors expected to outperform as the economy rebounds from the pandemic.