Market Wrap: D-Street ends flat as RIL, ICICI Bank offset IT gains; Sensex adds 32 pts, Nifty holds 23,650
HDFC Bank and IT stocks was offset by losses in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, and M&M.
The benchmark BSE Sensex added 32.81 points or 0.04% to close at 78,017.19, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,668.65, higher by 10.30 points or 0.04%.
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The major Indian IT companies, which earn a significant portion of their revenue in U.S. dollars, advanced on Tuesday. HCL Tech, Infosys, and Persistent Systems gained between 1% and 3%, pushing the Nifty IT index 1.3% higher.
Financial stocks ended the day marginally higher, rising 0.1%, but the Nifty Bank index slipped 0.2% while the Nifty PSU Bank index fell sharply by 1.7%. Among the banking heavyweights, HDFC Bank closed 1.1% higher, whereas ICICI Bank ended 1% lower.
The weakness in PSU banks weighed on the market, with shares of Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, and Union Bank of India closing 3% to 5% lower.
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Cement stocks saw strong buying after UBS upgraded select companies, citing expectations of a demand rebound in fiscal year 2026, signaling an end to the sector’s rough patch. Ultratech Cement jumped 3.5%, while ACC, Dalmia Bharat, and Ambuja Cements gained up to 3% in intraday trade.
The broader market, however, faced heavy profit booking after early gains. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ended lower, slipping 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that not all of the proposed tariffs would take effect on April 2,