The Sensex closed at 76,765.92 on Tuesday, down 69.86 points or 0.09 per cent, on a mixed trading day.

The Nifty 50 ended at 23,985.35, a decline of 10.60 points or 0.04 per cent.

Bank Nifty fell further, losing 331.60 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 56,755.60.

IT stocks were the bright spot, with the Nifty IT index gaining 3.32 per cent on the strength of TCS and Tech Mahindra.

Hindustan Unilever was the biggest drag, dropping nearly 7 per cent after its quarterly earnings fell short of estimates.

Coal India slipped more than 4 per cent following a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, blamed on lower production and higher operating costs, while Bharat Electronics was also among the top losers.

The Nifty Midcap index edged up 0.08 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap index eased 0.22 per cent.

The mixed close came a day after the indices posted sharp gains, snapping a five-day losing streak driven by rising crude oil prices.

Hindustan Unilever’s fall came after the company reported quarterly numbers that fell short of analyst estimates, with investors reacting sharply to the miss given the stock’s weight in the consumer goods space within the benchmark indices.

The rally in IT stocks was broad-based, with several other companies in the sector also posting gains during the session, as investors responded positively to the outlook shared by some of the larger firms during recent earnings updates.

Coal India’s decline reflected wider concerns among investors about production volumes at state-run mining companies, a theme that has recurred in past quarters and continues to weigh on sentiment around the stock.

Analysts tracking the session noted that the muted overall movement in the headline indices masked sharper swings at the sector and stock level, with earnings reactions driving much of Tuesday’s price action.

(Image: Niyantha Shekhar (CC BY 2.0))

The Sensex and Nifty rallied sharply on Monday, breaking a five-day losing streak.

The Sensex ended the day at 76,835.78, up 776.29 points or 1.02 per cent. The Nifty closed at 23,995.95, up 229.40 points, or 0.96 per cent.

The rally was fuelled by a sharp fall in crude oil prices after the United States and Iran paused military strikes, easing fears of an extended conflict.

IT and bank stocks led the charge, with Eternal and IndiGo among the top gainers of the session.

The advance built on gains already seen at the market’s open earlier in the day.

The bounce-back follows five straight sessions of losses linked to an earlier surge in crude oil prices.

(Image: Niyantha Shekhar (CC BY 2.0))

The Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Monday, ending a five-day losing run that had weighed on Indian markets through the previous week.

The Sensex jumped 549.21 points, or 0.72 per cent, to open at 76,608.98, while the Nifty added 160.95 points to start at 23,928.40.

On Friday, the indices had closed at their lowest in over a month, with the Sensex at 76,059.77 and the Nifty at 23,767.45.

The rebound came as crude oil prices fell 5 per cent on easing tensions in West Asia, retreating from a two-month high hit the previous week.

IndiGo led the gainers on the Sensex with a 3.11 per cent rise, followed by Eternal, Infosys, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance.

Broader markets also gained, with the BSE Smallcap Select Index up 1.05 per cent at 8,677.49.

(Image: Niyantha Shekhar (CC BY 2.0))