Sensex falls 153pts; Nifty below 15750; Bajaj Auto dips 5%, Adani Ent up 6%

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Indian equities ended lower for a third straight day on Tuesday as investors anticipated aggressive rate hikes by central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to tame multi-year high inflation. India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation, too, climbed to 15.8 per cent in May, its highest level since 2012.

Against this backdrop, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung in a range of 636 points before settling at 52,694, down 153 points or 0.29 per cent. The NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, shut shop at 15,732, down 42 points or 0.27 per cent. The index hit a high of 15,858 and a low of 15,659 in the intra-day trade.

ALSO READ: Five Sensex stocks have shed over 30% since Oct 2021. Time to bottom fish?

Select IT, metals, and pharma stocks helped the headline indices recover from the day's low. Overall, these indices ended higher in the range of 0.15 per cent to 0.9 per cent on the NSE. 

In the broader markets, the Nifty SmallCap index fell 0.23 per cent, while the Nifty MidCapp index shed 0.14 per cent.

ALSO READ: Fitch expects RBI to raise interest rates to 5.9% by December-end

Buzzing stocks

Bajaj Auto was the top Nifty laggard, sliding 7 per cent in the intra-day trade, as its Board decided to defer decision on Buyback proposal. READ MORE

That apart, shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) were under pressure on Tuesday as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) hit their respective 52-week lows, while Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) dipped 3 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade. READ MORE

On the upside, shares of Adani Enterprises (AEL) jumped 6.6 per cent to Rs 2,220 on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade after Adani and TotalEnergies of France entered into a new partnership to jointly create the world's largest green hydrogen ecosystem. READ MORE