The Sensex and Nifty opened slightly lower in trade today as investors twisted carefully in front of December quarter company earnings.
Sensex opened 44 points lower at 35,806, the Nifty fell 21 points to 10,750 in early trade. Sun Pharma (1.72%), Tata Motors (1.46%), and Tata Steel (1%) were the top Sensex gainers. Top Sensex losers were PowerGrid (1.01%), NTPC (0.91%) and Axis Bank (0.87%) were the top losers.
On Monday, the Sensex closed 155 points higher at 35,850 and Nifty ended 49 points in the green at 10,776 level. YES bank was trading 0.64% higher at 188.10 level ahead of its board meeting to finalise the name of its CEO and MD on January 9.
Meanwhile, the mid cap and small cap index were trading 3 points lower and 26 points higher in early trade. Market width was negative with 914 stocks trading higher compared to 1381 falling on the BSE.
Metal and healthcare stock led the gains with their BSE index rising 71 points and 73 points, correspondingly. On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 736.18 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 141.97 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.
The rupee opened 12 paise lower against the dollar in trade today. The Indian currency started the day at 69.80 per dollar compared to its Monday's close of 69.68.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 0.5 percent to $57.33 per barrel in London.
Global markets:
Most Asian shares were propped up on Tuesday by hopes that Washington and Beijing may be inching towards a trade deal and that US Federal Reserve would halt its contraction if economic growth slows further. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up just 0.1 percent, though it was dragged down by falls in China and Taiwan.
The S&P 500 added 17.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,549.69 The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 98.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,531.35. The Nasdaq gained 84.6 1 points, or 1.3 percent, to 6,823.47.
