Market litmus turns red as shares erase gains; rupees hits fresh record low

Indian shares closed lower on Tuesday, giving up more than 1 per cent gains made during the day, as investor sentiment soured in global markets, while rupee hit a fresh record low on concerns of a bigger current account deficit.

The NSE Nifty50 Index ended down 0.15 per cent at 15,810.85, while the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.2 per cent to 53,134.35. Both indices had gained over 1 per cent in morning trade.

US stock futures and European shares fell, while the euro sank to a two-decade low versus the dollar.

The Nifty IT Index fell 0.7 per cent.

“The US markets were closed on Monday (Fourth of July) and are starting in negative territory. It is getting cascaded to European markets as well, which might have driven investors in domestic markets to take profits,” said Ajit Mishra, vice-president-research, Religare Broking.

“The rupee hitting fresh lows has become constant and there is caution with earnings season setting. The moment investors see markets turning, it triggers a notion they should also book profits before it evaporates,” said Mishra.

The Nifty’s volatility index, which indicates traders’ expectations about market instability over the next 30 days, was down 0.9 per cent at 20.7875.

Among individual gainers, PTC India Financial Services jumped nearly 20 per cent after the non-banking financial company said an independent audit issued a ‘satisfactory report’ after deeming that the company maintained sufficient transparency.

PTC India Financial Services has been under the Indian markets regulator’s radar for corporate governance issues. Marksans Pharma soared 17.8 per cent after a proposal for a share buyback.

ITC fell 1.7 per cent and was the top loser on the Nifty50 Index.