Sensex see-saws 487 pts, ends 14 pts down; HDFC Bank, RIL top laggards

Stock market updates: A range-bound trade ended flat on Tuesday as indecision weighed on investors' minds. Tracking solid global cues, the domestic equity indices opened gap-up with the frontline S&P BSE Sensex and NSE's Nifty50 indices extending their gains to surge as high as 50,961 and 15,294 levels, respectively in the intra-day deals. However, profit-booking at higher levels and selling in financial counters put a lid on gains. 

During the day, the BSE barometer of 30 shares gyrated within a band of 490 points and eventually settled 14 points lower from previous day's closing at 50,637.5 levels. On the NSE, the Nifty50 defended the psychological level of 15,200 and shut shop at 15,208, up 11 points. 

Up to 2 per cent selling in heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, HDFC, ITC, and IndusInd Bank largely dragged the indices lower. Meanwhile, Infosys, Asian Paints, TCS, Titan Company, and ICICI Bank, that gained between 0.4 per cent and 3.5 per cent, supported the indices. 

Overall, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, Titan, Eicher Motors, Britannia, and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers on the benchmark indices while HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Coal India, and Reliance Industries were the top laggards.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 0.3 per cent as against the S&P BSE SmallCap index that rose 0.3 per cent.

From sectoral view point, all financial indices -- the Nifty Bank, Private Bank, PSU Bank, and Financial Services indices -- slipped between 0.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent. On the upside, the Nifty Media index zoomed 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT index (up 1 per cent) and the Metal index (0.6 per cent).

Global indices

European stocks advanced on Tuesday morning as easing inflation fears lifted global market sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 per cent to an all-time high of 446.47 points after it surpassed its early-May peak of 446.19. Germany’s DAX also gained 0.8 per cent and hit fresh peak.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei added 0.7 per cent, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite zoomed over 2 per cent.