Sensex closes 181 points down, Nifty ends below 12,250; Yes Bank, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel gain

Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks ended lower for the second consecutive trading session on Tuesday (December 24). The Sensex closes 181.40 points down or 0.44% at 41461.26, while Nifty ends down 48.30 points or 0.39% at 12214.50. Major gainers on the Nifty were Yes Bank, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel and ONGC while top losers were BPCL, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, UPL and Eicher Motors. 

As many as 1136 shares advanced, 1320 shares declined, while 170 shares remain unchanged. Eleven of 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE ended lower led by the S&P BSE Energy index's 1.3 per cent decline. 

During early hours on Tuesday, equity benchmark indices were flat, mirroring Asian markets due to weak volumes ahead of the Christmas holiday break. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was 0.45 points lower to 41,642 while the Nifty 50 crawled down by 0.35 points at 12,263. 

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green except for Nifty IT, realty and financial service. Nifty media gained by nearly 1 per cent. Among stocks, Zee Entertainment was the top gainer by 2.31 per cent to trade at Rs 301.60 per share. The others in positive zone included IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Mahindra & Mahindra.

However, IT stocks fell with HCL Technologies down by 1.4 per cent, Tech Mahindra by 0.5 per cent and Wipro by 0.4 per cent. HDFC Bank and Dr Reddy`s too traded in the negative terrain.

Meanwhile, Asian shares and US stock futures darted in and out of losses on Tuesday, as the holiday lull offset optimism that a US-China trade deal will boost exports and corporate earnings. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.01%.

Blue-chip shares in China rose 0.29% after Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday the government was considering more measures to lower corporate financing costs. Australian shares were unchanged, while Japan`s Nikkei stock index edged 0.02% lower.

Sterling traded near a four-week low versus the euro and a three-week trough against the dollar on growing doubts over how Britain will navigate the transition period for its exit from the European Union.

Oil prices held steady before data on U.S. crude inventories later on Tuesday, but there are signs that recent supply cuts may not last after Russia`s energy minister said oil producers could ease output restrictions in March.

Wall Street`s main indexes posted record closing highs on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said an initial U.S.-China trade pact would be signed soon.

A de-escalation of a trade conflict between the world`s two-largest economies is a positive for companies that feed global supply chains, but some investors want to wait until next year to see how long the current thaw in Sino-U.S. relations lasts.

US stock futures were unchanged in Asia after the S&P 500 gained 0.09% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.34% on Monday.

(With Agency Inputs)