Sensex closes at 76,765.92, Nifty at 23,985.35 on mixed session

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))