New Delhi, 01 September (H.S.): The domestic equity market closed marginally lower on Tuesday after witnessing a volatile session throughout the day. Trading began on a largely flat note. After the market opened, both the Sensex and Nifty gained ground in the first half of the session, supported by better-than-expected GDP growth figures and value buying at lower levels. However, the gains failed to sustain for long.

In the second half of the session, shortly after noon, rising crude oil prices in international markets exerted pressure on the equity market. Selling in banking stocks further intensified the pressure. At the close of trading, the Sensex declined 0.02 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 0.10 per cent. The decline resulted in investors losing approximately Rs 3.46 lakh crore in market wealth.

The BSE Sensex opened at 76,994.11, up 36.84 points, or 0.05 per cent. After the opening, the index witnessed mild volatility during the initial phase of trading. The release of better-than-expected GDP growth figures subsequently boosted market sentiment and triggered a recovery. The Sensex climbed more than 235 points from its opening level to touch an intraday high of 77,231.87, representing a gain of 274.60 points, or 0.36 per cent.

However, the rally in the Sensex failed to sustain. Rising crude oil prices in international markets, coupled with heavy selling in banking stocks in the domestic market, pushed the index lower after noon. Under sustained selling pressure, the Sensex plunged 575.75 points from its day's high to hit an intraday low of 76,656.12, down 301.15 points, or 0.39 per cent.

Towards the close, renewed buying activity helped the index recover 288.16 points from its day's low. The Sensex eventually ended at 76,944.28, down 12.99 points, or 0.02 per cent.

The NSE Nifty, meanwhile, opened at 24,077.55, registering a marginal decline of 2.85 points, or 0.01 per cent. Like the Sensex, the Nifty also gained momentum during the first half of the session after the release of stronger GDP growth figures. However, rising crude oil prices in the second half of the session weighed heavily on the index.

After the opening, the Nifty rose 65.60 points from its initial level to hit an intraday high of 24,143.15, gaining 62.75 points, or 0.26 per cent. The index subsequently declined 190.60 points from its day's high to touch a low of 23,952.55, down 127.85 points, or 0.53 per cent. Buying intensified during the final five minutes of trading, helping the Nifty recover 103.25 points from its day's low. The index finally closed at 24,055.80, down 24.60 points, or 0.10 per cent.

Banking, consumer durables and automobile stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure during the day's trading. The realty, public sector enterprises, metal, healthcare and capital goods indices also ended in the red. In contrast, buying interest was seen in IT, FMCG and oil and gas stocks.

The broader market also remained under pressure amid sustained selling. The Nifty Midcap index declined 1.39 per cent, while the Smallcap index ended 0.23 per cent lower.

Heavy selling in small-cap and mid-cap stocks resulted in a decline of around Rs 3.46 lakh crore in investors' wealth. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 488.12 lakh crore (provisional) after Tuesday's trading session, compared with Rs 491.58 lakh crore at the close of the previous trading session on Monday. Thus, investors lost approximately Rs 3.46 lakh crore during Tuesday's session.

A total of 4,559 stocks witnessed active trading on the BSE. Of these, 1,760 stocks closed higher, while 2,563 declined and 236 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,224 stocks were actively traded, with 1,131 ending in positive territory and 2,093 closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 12 stocks ended higher, 17 declined and one remained unchanged. In the Nifty 50 pack, 20 stocks closed in the green, while 30 ended in the red.

Among the major stocks, ITC gained 4.34 per cent, Bharti Airtel rose 3.60 per cent, Adani Ports advanced 3.41 per cent, HCL Technologies climbed 2.99 per cent and Reliance Industries gained 2.51 per cent to feature among the top five gainers of the day.

On the other hand, Shriram Finance declined 4.58 per cent, Maruti Suzuki fell 4.41 per cent, Nestle dropped 3.90 per cent, Max Healthcare slipped 3.75 per cent and InterGlobe Aviation declined 3.48 per cent, making them the top five losers of the session.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar