Sensex down 150 points, Nifty below 9,400; broader markets underperform

The benchmark indices reversed gains to trade lower on Tuesday tracking mixed cues from the Asian markets following a deadly explosin at a pop concert in Manchester, two-and-a-half weeks before an election that UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to win easily. 

At 12:17 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 30,403, down 97 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,381, down 57 points. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices dipped over 2% each. 

"Going forward, we are expecting the Nifty to trade in the range of 9,300 to 9,500 in May series; wherein stock centric approach may fetch better returns,” said brokerage Angel Broking. 

Buzzing stocks

Nifty Pharma index (down 3%) was the leading sectoral loser, led by losses in Sun Pharma (down 5%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 4%), Divi's Lab (down 3%) and Cipla (down 2%). 

Sun Pharma hit six-month low after Taro Pharmaceutical Industries reported 25.9% fall in net sales for the March quarter. Taro accounts for about one-fifth of Sun Pharma's revenue and profit, reported Reuters. 

GAIL shed over 3% after the company said it has signed a first-ever time-swap deal to sell some of its US liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it rejigs the supply portfolio in line with domestic demand on Monday. 

RBI in action

Staying on course to resolve the bad loan problem plaguing the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) outlined the further steps it plans to take, such as expanding the oversight committee (OC) and its mandate, modifying existing debt recast rules, and engaging rating agencies for timely action. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT

Global markets

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was steady on Tuesday. It hit its highest level since May 2015 on Monday, posting its biggest one-day gain in over two months.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.15%.

Chinese shares fell 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2% to its highest level since July 2015. Australian shares slipped almost 0.1%, while South Korea's KOSPI added 0.1%.

Overnight, Wall Street closed higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.99 points, or 0.43% to 20,894. The S&P500 index gained 12.29 points, or 0.52% to 2,394, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 49.92 points, or 0.82% to 6,133. 

(With inputs from Reuters)