Nifty 50 wraps up a choppy session with marginal loss, Sensex ends flat

The Nifty 50 fell marginally after a choppy trading session on Tuesday, paring earlier gains while the Session was largely unchanged amid lack of strong cues ahead of the Christmas holidays.

At open, the headline indices had mirrored gains in most global markets, where investors likely cheered the prospect of more rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve than was signalled last week. The broader market indices underperformed the benchmark indices.

At market closing, the benchmark BSE Sensex slipped 67 points to end at 78,473, while the Nifty 50 ended lower by 26 points at 23,728. The Nifty Bank index also saw a decline, falling 85 points to 51,233, and the Midcap index lost 35 points, closing at 57,058.

Metal stocks reversed their strong rally from Monday, emerging as the top losers of the session. Investors appeared cautious amid mixed global cues, which weighed on sentiment. The broader market followed the downtrend, with significant losses seen in key sectors, particularly in metal stocks.

The market's decline was broad-based, with sectoral indices reflecting a weak trading atmosphere, while some defensive sectors showed relative resilience.

Information technology stocks slipped 0.4%, while the auto stocks gained 0.6%.

Both the indexes had slipped about 5% last week, tracking the benchmarks, driven by investors paring back expectations for US rate cuts in 2025 and continued FII selling.

In individual stocks, Siemens continued its losing streak, falling 2.4% on Tuesday. The Indian-listed shares of the German multinational technology conglomerate have plunged nearly 15% over last three sessions.

Meanwhile, shares of Biocon extended gains, ending 4.8% higher after the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) with a Voluntary Action Status (VAI) for its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) facility in Bengaluru. The stock is up 35% so far in 2024.

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