Sensex, Nifty Give Up Early Gains Amid Volatile Trade

Domestic stock markets gave up opening gains in volatile trade on Tuesday amid weakness across Asian shares, as rising global COVID-19 cases and concerns over fresh lockdowns in Europe weighed on sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell 332.87 points - or 0.88 per cent - to 37,701.27 in early deals, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark slid to as low as 11,133.15, down 117.4 points - or 1.04 per cent - from its previous close, soon after both registered a positive opening. A selloff across most sectors, led by financial, automobile and metal shares, dragged the markets lower, however strength in major IT stocks kept the downside in check.

At 9:25 am, the Sensex traded 93.58 points - or 0.25 per cent - lower at 37,940.56, while the Nifty was down 21.50 points - or 0.19 per cent - at 11,229.05.

Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Zee Entertainment, Bharat Petroleum and GAIL, trading between 2.95 per cent and 5.38 per cent lower, were the worst hit among 40 laggards in the 50-scrip benchmark index.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and TCS, up between 1.16 per cent and 1.34 per cent, were the top Nifty gainers.

The National Stock Exchange's India VIX index - which gauges the expectation of volatility in the near term - jumped as much as 3.48 per cent in morning deals.

"Negative global sentiment, a negative report on major Indian banks by some media company about usage of funds and the nearing expiry (derivatives contracts) along with a higher number of coronavirus  cases is causing nervousness in the markets," Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets, told NDTV.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said it had registered a case against dairy company Kwality and its directors for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks of around Rs 1,400 crore.

Meanwhile, total COVID-19 cases in the country reached 5.49 million as of Monday, according to government data.

Equities elsewhere in Asia extended losses for a second straight day, as possible delays in expanded US stimulus and concerns about fresh pandemic lockdowns in Europe knocked investor sentiment.