Indian equity markets closed lower on Tuesday, with the divergence between the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex continuing for a second straight session as the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) new Closing Auction Session (CAS) influenced market closing trends.
The Nifty 50 settled at 24,614.90, down 159.40 points (0.64 per cent), while the BSE Sensex ended at 78,428.95, losing 210.08 points (0.27 per cent).
Trading activity during the Closing Auction Session remained overwhelmingly concentrated on the NSE. Of the total CAS turnover, the NSE accounted for Rs 1,542.4 crore, or 99.4 per cent, while the BSE recorded Rs 9.4 crore, or 0.6 per cent.
The most actively traded stocks during the closing auction on the NSE included Infosys, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and Wipro.
The divergence comes a day after the NSE implemented its new closing auction mechanism for F&O-eligible stocks, under which closing prices are determined through a dedicated auction instead of the earlier Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP) method.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Media emerged as the top gainer, rising 2 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal, which advanced 0.91 per cent. On the downside, Nifty FMCG declined 0.88 per cent, Nifty Auto fell 0.44 per cent, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.24 per cent, and Nifty PSU Bank edged down 0.08 per cent.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices fell more than 2 per cent to USD 85.66 per barrel.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.35 per cent to close at 63,980, while South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.60 per cent to 6,358. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.60 per cent to 25,854, and Taiwan’s Weighted Index slipped 0.06 per cent to 43,360.
