The Indian stock markets ended flat with a slight positive bias on Tuesday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the US reciprocal tariff deadline on July 8.
The focus remained on trade negotiations between India and the United States, with a potential trade deal expected this week.
After touching an intraday high of 83,874.29, the Sensex finally closed at 83,697.29, gaining 90.83 points or 0.11 per cent.
Similarly, the Nifty added 24.75 points, or 0.1 per cent, to settle at 25,541.8.
Among the 30-share index, BEL emerged as the top gainer, closing 2.51 per cent higher. Other notable gainers included Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Titan, and Bharti Airtel.
On the flip side, Axis Bank, Trent, Eternal (formerly Zomato), Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, and TCS were among the top losers.
The broader market showed mixed signals. The Nifty Midcap100 index ended flat, while the Nifty Smallcap100 slipped slightly, down 0.10 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank, Metal, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, and Pharma closed in the green. However, sectors like Auto, IT, Energy, FMCG, Media, and Realty declined.
The total market capitalisation of all listed companies on the NSE stood at Rs 5.36 trillion.
On the volatility front, the India VIX — which measures market uncertainty — dropped 2.01 per cent to close at 12.5, indicating reduced fear among investors.
Gold traded positive as continued dollar weakness supported prices. Comex Gold surged by $30 to $3,345, while MCX Gold rose by Rs 1,200 to settle around Rs 97,300.
“The sentiment remains buoyant this week, driven by expectations around key US economic data, particularly the Non-Farm Payrolls, unemployment figures, and ADP non-farm employment change,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.
Additionally, the rupee traded positive, gaining 0.28 per cent to close at 85.51, supported by a weaker Dollar Index trading below 97.00 and sustained weakness in crude oil prices.
“Rupee is expected to trade in a range of 85.20 to 85.80,” Trivedi added.
-IANS