Closing Bell: Markets extend decline for 3rd straight session; Sensex down 150 points, Nifty below 15750 – Auto, Banks drag most

The Indian markets closed lower for the third straight session on Tuesday, as Sensex fell marginally by over 150 points and Nifty50 settled below the 15750-level. The benchmark indices were mainly dragged by auto, banking, and financial service stocks today.

At the market close, the BSE Sensex slipped by 153 points or 0.29 per cent to 52693, while Nifty50 was down 42 points or 0.27 per cent to 15732. While in broader markets, mid-cap outperformed and small-cap underperformed the benchmarks by 0.2 and 0.6 per cent at the market close on Tuesday.

As many as 27 stocks advanced and 23 declined on Nifty50 at the market close. NTPC become a top Nifty gainer, up over 2 per cent, followed by Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Divis Lab, Apollo Hospital up around 1.5 per cent at the market close.

On the contrary, Bajaj Auto became a top Nifty laggard, down nearly 5 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Hindalco, and ONGC down over 2 per cent, while Tech Mahindra slipped nearly 2 per cent at the market close.

Sectorally, Nifty Auto dragged the market most by 0.6 per cent, followed by bank and financial indices down by 0.3 and 0.4 per cent at the close. Conversely, Nifty Metal gained nearly 0.5 per cent, while Nifty Realty up around 1 per cent at the market close.

Markets ended marginally lower in a volatile trading session, in continuation of the prevailing trend, Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said, and added that the benchmark made multiple attempts to recover but selling pressure in heavyweights capped the upside till the end.