Sensex, Nifty end higher for second straight session, banks underperform

Stock market update: The Indian equity benchmarks managed to close higher for second straight session on Tuesday but the benchmarks came sharply lower from day's highs to close on a flat note. Banking and financial services shares came under heavy selling pressure in the last hour of trade which caused spike in volatility. The Sensex fell as much as 728 points from day's highest level and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 21,517.85 after touching an intraday high of 21,724.45.

The Sensex ended 31 points higher at 71,386 and Nifty 50 index advanced 32 points to settle at 21,545.

Weekly expiry of Nifty Financial Services derivative contracts and last-minute rush to square off contracts led to sharp fall in final hour of trade, analysts said.

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"Markets witnessed a roller coaster ride on Tuesday and ended almost flat, in continuation to prevailing consolidation phase. Firm global cues triggered a gag-up start in Nifty, which further strengthened with renewed buying in select heavyweights however a sharp cut in latter half trimmed the gains. Eventually, it settled at 21,544.85; up by 0.15 per cent," said Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking.

Banking and financial services shares were among the biggest laggards among sectors as the Nifty Bank index, the gauge of banking shares on the NSE, dropped 783 points from the day's highest level. Nifty Financial Services, Media, PSU Bank and Private Bank indices also ended lower.

On the other hand, real estate, healthcare, pharma, metal, IT, and auto shares witnessed buying interest.

Mid- and small-cap shares saw buying as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.44 per cent.

Among the individual shares Zee Entertainment dropped 7.64 per cent to close at Rs 256 after reports suggested that its merger with Sony might not sail through. However, in a clarification, Zee has denied report as misleading and baseless.

Hero MotoCorp was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 3 per cent to close at Rs 4,125. Adani Ports, SBI Life, Apollo Hospitals, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, Cipla, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma also rose between 1.5-2.75 per cent.

On the flipside, Britannia, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and UPL were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,241 shares ended higher while 1,606 closed lower on the BSE.