MUMBAI: Indian benchmark indexes settled lower on Tuesday, dragged by information technology and metal stocks, with trade expected to be rangebound for the next few sessions due to the lack of triggers in a holiday-truncated week.
The Nifty 50 shed 0.11% to 23,727.65 points, while the BSE Sensex settled 0.09% lower at 78,472.87. The indexes rose as much as 0.5% earlier in the session.
Indian financial markets will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
The benchmarks are unlikely to see significant gains through early January before the December-quarter earnings start trickling in, analysts said.
“Trading volumes will be thin in the next few sessions due to this being a holiday-shortened week and as the year comes to an end,” Vikram Kasat, head of advisory at PL Capital, said.
Nine of the 13 major sectors declined on the day, with heavyweight financials losing 0.2%.
The broader smallcaps rose 0.2%, while midcaps closed flat.
IT companies, which earn a major share of their revenue from the US, declined 0.4%. Their shares have been under pressure since last week as Federal Reserve’s policymakers lowered their rate cut projections for 2025.
The metal index shed 0.8%, as a stronger US dollar made metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The Indian rupee slipped to a lifetime low during the session.
Auto stocks snapped a five-session losing streak, to gain 0.6%, led by a 1.9% rise in Tata Motors.
Shares of Interglobe Aviation, the operator of airline IndiGo, rose 3.9% to post their best session in four months after the carrier’s market share jumped to another record high in November.
City gas distributors Mahanagar Gas and Indraprastha Gas gained about 2% each on media reports that the oil ministry has re-submitted a proposal to halve the excise duty on compressed natural gas.
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