Indian equity benchmarks witnessed sharp declines during Tuesday's afternoon trading, with the Nifty50 falling 219.05 points, or 0.91%, to 23,883.85 and the Sensex declining 668.61 points, or 0.87%, to 76,425.46 as of 13:30 PM. According to Business Standard, the decline was primarily driven by weakness in IT and metal stocks amid a broader sell-off in global technology shares. Earlier in the day, as reported by Dalal Street Investment Journal, the Nifty50 was down 43.35 points, or 0.18%, at 24,059.55 and the Sensex declined 117.76 points, or 0.15%, to 76,976.31 as of 9:19 AM. The weakness was visible across the broader market as well, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index falling 0.45% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shedding 0.40%. Market volatility rose sharply, with the India VIX jumping 9.14% to 14.02, indicating heightened market uncertainty.
IT and metal stocks emerged as the biggest laggards, reflecting weakness in technology and commodity-linked stocks. The Nifty IT index fell ahead of Infosys' annual general meeting later in the day, with TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Mphasis declining between 2-3%, while Oracle Financial Services Software was the lone gainer in the sector, rising around 1%. Metal stocks witnessed sharp profit-booking, with Hindalco Industries slumping 3.24%, JSW Steel declining 3.10%, and Tata Steel falling 2.86%. On the positive side, the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare indices outperformed the broader market, providing some support amid the overall negative sentiment. Sectorally, all major indices traded in the red except healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Market breadth remained weak with 2,720 shares rising and 1,400 shares falling on the BSE, while 195 shares remained unchanged.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Cipla emerged as the top gainer, rising 2.07%, followed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.05%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.72%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 0.37%). On the downside, Hindalco Industries (down 3.24%), Infosys (down 3.06%), JSW Steel (down 3.10%) and Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.86%) were the biggest drags. In the broader market, Info Edge (India) rose 3.10% after the company shared a detailed update on its startup investment portfolio, highlighting strong gains from its artificial intelligence (AI), deeptech and consumer technology bets. Network People Services Technologies surged 7.20% after the company received an order from a Maharatna PSU to develop a UPI Third-Party Application Provider application. Syrma SGS Technology rallied 3.45% after the company entered into an agreement with Kaga Electronics India to develop EMS manufacturing facility in India through a joint venture, with the company owning 60% equity for ₹15 crore consideration.
The Nifty Realty index added 1.51% to 827.45, extending its gains for the second consecutive trading session with a 1.91% rise over two sessions. As reported by Business Standard, major realty stocks showed strong performance including Oberoi Realty (up 2.4%), Aditya Birla Real Estate (up 2.03%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.57%), Lodha Developers (up 1.08%), Sobha (up 1.05%), Godrej Properties (up 0.89%), Phoenix Mills (up 0.87%), Anant Raj (up 0.7%), and DLF (up 0.33%). The sustained momentum in realty shares indicates continued investor interest in the sector.
European stocks opened sharply in red on Tuesday as early euphoria over a U.S.-Iran peace deal evaporated, giving way to renewed anxieties over "higher-for-longer" interest rates. According to Business Standard, investors are grappling with expectations of an accelerated schedule of rate hikes by a more aggressive Federal Reserve under the leadership of new Chair Kevin Warsh. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 54% probability of at least two 25-basis-point hikes before the end of the year, compared with a 15.2% chance a week ago. A key test for the market this week will be Thursday's release of May's reading on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.37% to 7,472.79, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.32% to 26,166.60, weighed down by declines in technology stocks.
