Indices fail to hold on to gains in see-saw trade; Sensex falls 106 points

The benchmark Sensex declined for the third day on Tuesday as overseas investors continued to dump risky assets amid concerns surrounding rising inflation and surge in US bond yields.

The 30-share index finished at 54,365 - down 106 points, or 0.2 per cent. The Sensex has posted losses in six of the previous seven sessions. The index is down nearly 5 per cent this month. The Nifty last closed at 16,240 - down 62 points, or 0.4 per cent. 

The latest decline comes despite a rebound in other global markets off their multi-month lows as investors looked to buy the dip. Indian markets, too, traded positive for the most part of the day. They, however, slipped into red ahead of the closing bell.

Among Sensex components, Tata Steel declined the most at nearly 7 per cent, followed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (minus 2.74 per cent) and NTPC (minus 2.33 per cent).

Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints gained the most at 3.24 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

“Markets are witnessing volatile swings as various factors like rising interest rates, concerns over slower economic growth, and further tightening measures in China continue to weigh on investors. The Nifty has corrected 6.5 per cent in the past seven trading sessions,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head-retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.