Indian stock markets witnessed a subdued trading session on Tuesday, weighed down by the ongoing general elections and impending global inflation data. The cautious mood followed two volatile sessions that saw the benchmark indices touch record highs before retreating.
The Sensex, after opening higher at 75,585.40, oscillated within a narrow range throughout the day before settling at 75,170.45, a decline of 220.05 points, or 0.29%.
The Nifty 50 followed a similar trajectory, closing at 22,888.15, down 44.30 points, or 0.19%.
Analysts attributed the lackluster performance to election-related anxieties and concerns about potential inflationary pressures.
The upcoming release of inflation data from various countries further dampened investor sentiment.
Among sectoral indices, Realty, PSU Banks, and Oil & Gas bore the brunt of the selling pressure.
Power Grid Corp., NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Motors were the biggest drags on the Sensex, while Asian Paints, Wipro, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, and Bajaj Finserv emerged as gainers.
The broader market mirrored the weakness in the headline indices, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices shedding 0.63% and 1.09%, respectively.
Bucking the trend, the Pharma and Healthcare indices managed to close in positive territory.
Positive corporate news provided a silver lining. 3M India reported a 4.6% increase in Q4 revenues to ₹1,094.5 crore compared to the year-ago period.
Net profit also witnessed a significant jump of 27% YoY, reaching ₹173 crore. Hind Rectifiers too, declared a turnaround, posting a net profit of ₹5 crore in Q4 compared to a loss in the corresponding period last year.
The company's revenues also witnessed a healthy growth of 35%.
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