Stocks end at day’s low as financials drag; midcaps outperform

The stock market closed at their lowest levels of the day on Tuesday, reversing early gains, as a late sell-off in financial stocks pulled the benchmarks lower. The Nifty 50 index fell 98 points, or 0.40%, to 24,487, slipping below its 100-day moving average of 24,514, while the Sensex dropped 368 points, or 0.46%, to 80,236.

The Nifty Bank index declined 1% to 55,044, with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank the biggest drags on the benchmark. Thirty of the 50 Nifty constituents ended in the red.

The broader midcap index lost 154 points to 56,325, but relatively outperformed the headline indices, with market breadth finishing neutral.

Among individual movers, Alkem Laboratories surged as much as 7% after its June-quarter earnings beat estimates. Granules India jumped over 3% despite posting subdued Q1 results, while Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) ended off the day’s highs after reporting operating numbers ahead of expectations.

SJVN, Jindal Stainless (JSL), Biocon and India Cements were among the top midcap gainers.

On the downside, Astral slid more than 8% on a weaker-than-expected quarter, with Supreme Industries also finishing lower. Muthoot Finance fell nearly 3% ahead of its earnings release.

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) slumped almost 5% after reporting a 400-basis-point drop in operating margins from a year earlier. Jayaswal Neco Industries jumped 14% after repaying its debentures in full ahead of schedule.