Mumbai

Equitybenchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower for the second day on Tuesday as elevated crude oil prices, uncertainty over the Iran war peace deal, higher US Treasury yields and foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 242.65 points, or 0.33 per cent, to settle at 72,529.07. During the day, it slumped 707.72 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 72,064. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 64.05 points, or 0.28 per cent, to end at 22,716.20.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Titan, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever and Tech Mahindra were among the major laggards. Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the winners. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.09 per cent to USD 105.1 per barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,353.22 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

“Domestic equities continue to face correction-led headwinds amid volatile crude prices, US Treasury yields hovering near two-decade highs, and persistent FII outflows exerting pressure on the rupee. Adding to the pressure, the unprecedented pace of IPO fundraising is absorbing incremental liquidity. Investor risk appetite remains subdued against a hawkish global backdrop amid rising odds of additional rate hikes later in the year,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

According to Ajit Mishra, SVP – research, Religare Broking, markets also witnessed selling pressure amid the monthly F&O expiry.

“Markets remained under selling pressure on the monthly expiry day, extending the ongoing corrective trend. After a weak opening, the benchmark indices remained under pressure through most of the session and traded near their lowest levels in nearly six months, before recovering marginally from the lows. Global concerns continued to weigh on sentiment, with crude prices remaining elevated, the US 10-year Treasury yield staying firm,” Mishra said. The BSE MidCap Select index dropped 0.99 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index was up 0.25 per cent.