On the 30-stock Sensex, shares of Power Grid, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Steel, and Maruti Suzuki led the declines, slipping between 2% and 3%.
Among sectoral indices, IT was one of the top drags on the Nifty, shedding 1.1% as mixed remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve officials clouded prospects of a rate cut in December.
The broader markets also weakened, with the small-cap index down 0.8% and the mid-cap gauge losing 0.4%.
Bharti Airtel rose 1.9% to a record high after the country’s second-largest telecom operator reported a sharp rise in quarterly profit. Titan Company advanced 2.3% to a one-year high after posting stronger-than-expected earnings for the September quarter.
Mahindra & Mahindra gained 0.9% on the back of robust SUV sales that lifted quarterly profit, while State Bank of India added 0.8% as earnings benefited from gains on the sale of its stake in Yes Bank.
Expert views
Investor sentiment remained subdued ahead of the holiday-shortened week as FIIs extended their selling streak for the fourth consecutive session, and as rising U.S. bond yields and waning expectations of a near-term Fed rate cut curtailed risk appetite, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.”Nonetheless, India’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain resilient, with strong manufacturing PMI and robust GST collections—despite recent tax reductions—underscoring sustained economic momentum and supporting earnings upgrades in the coming quarters. We expect investors will continue to exercise the buy on dips strategy in expectation of improvement in trend going forward,” said Nair.
Global Markets
World markets retreated Tuesday as investors booked profits after recent gains driven by artificial intelligence optimism.
France’s CAC 40 fell 1.3%, Germany’s DAX dropped 1.5%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.8%. U.S. futures also pointed lower, with Dow futures down 0.8% and S&P 500 futures off nearly 1%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.7% after a holiday closure, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite eased 0.4%.
Recent rallies in Nvidia, Amazon, and other AI-driven stocks have fueled concerns that valuations are running too hot, with some analysts warning of a potential bubble reminiscent of the dot-com era.
Crude impact
Oil prices fell more than 1% on Tuesday after OPEC+ decided to pause production increases in the first quarter of next year, while weak manufacturing data and a stronger dollar further pressured the market.
Brent crude futures slipped 82 cents, or 1.3%, to $64.07 a barrel by 0905 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 84 cents, or 1.4%, to $60.21 a barrel.
Rupee vs Dollar
The Indian rupee ended firmer at 88.6550 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, rising 0.1% amid likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, though regular dollar demand from importers and foreign banks capped further gains.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six major currencies, inched up 0.09% to 99.80.
(with inputs from agencies)