Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for the third consecutive day on Tuesday amid volatile trade. The decline was driven by selling pressure in IT and blue-chip private banking shares, along with foreign fund outflows fueled by concerns over the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees.

After oscillating between gains and losses throughout the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended down by 57.87 points, or 0.07%, at 82,102.10. During intraday trading, the Sensex touched a high of 82,370.38 and a low of 81,776.53, fluctuating by 593.85 points. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 32.85 points, or 0.13%, to close at 25,169.50.

Buying interest in the auto sector and select public sector banks helped cushion the losses, analysts noted. Among Sensex companies, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eicher Motors, and ITC were the major laggards. Selling pressure in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices lower. However, shares of Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

“The domestic equity market traded rangebound and ended flat, indicating a continuation of consolidation. Broader sentiment stayed cautious, with small- and mid-cap stocks lagging the benchmarks,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd.

Sector-wise, autos, metals, and financials gained on signs of robust festive demand following recent GST cuts. On the other hand, FMCG and realty stocks came under pressure due to profit booking, Nair added.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,910.09 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indexes closed lower, while South Korea’s Kospi ended in positive territory. Equity markets in Japan were closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, US markets ended higher on Monday.

The Indian rupee slumped by 52 paise to hit an all-time low of 88.82 against the US dollar during intraday trading on Tuesday amid sustained foreign fund outflows. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.45% to USD 66.87 a barrel.

On Monday, the Sensex had dropped 466.26 points, or 0.56%, settling at 82,159.97. The Nifty declined 124.70 points, or 0.49%, to close at 25,202.35.

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