At 2 PM, the BSE Sensex was down 235 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 81,737, while the Nifty 50 was at 25,039, down 88 points, or 0.35 per cent.
On the BSE Sensex, only 10 out of the 30 stocks were trading in the green. Gains were led by ICICI Bank (up 1.69 per cent), followed by Bharti Airtel, Asian Paint, HCLTech, and UltraTech Cement, while loses were capped by Bajaj Finance (down 3.12 per cent), followed by Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Tata Motors.
Similarly, on the Nifty 50, 35 stocks were trading in the red, with loses capped by Wipro (down 3.34 per cent), followed by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Life, and Hindalco Industries.
Meanwhile, gains were led by ICICI Bank (up 1.72 per cent), followed by BPCL, Bharti Airtel, Britannia Industries, and Asian Paint.
Among sectoral indices, the Metal index was the top drag, falling 1.68 per cent, followed by the Auto index, which was down 0.96 per cent. The Bank index was trading on a muted note, while the Financial Services index was down 0.06 per cent, and the IT index was down 0.43 per cent.
The Pharma and Oil & Gas indices were also trading lower by 0.53 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 was muted, trading 0.1 per cent lower, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 was ahead by 0.81 per cent.
European shares and US stock futures were little changed on Tuesday after Wall Street scaled record highs overnight, while oil prices dropped on a report that Israel will refrain from striking Iranian energy targets.
Chinese stocks, meanwhile, tumbled as a media report that detailed extra government borrowing to boost the economy appeared to underwhelm investors.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell less than 0.1 per cent in early trading after rising on Monday, leaving it within 1 per cent of a record high reached in September.
Germany’s DAX stock index climbed 0.3 per cent to a record high but Britain’s energy-focused FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent.
Futures for the US S&P 500 index were very slightly lower after the benchmark Wall Street gauge hit a record high overnight, led by chip stocks after a 2.4 per cent jump in AI darling Nvidia and a brisk start to the third-quarter earnings season with JP Morgan and Wells Fargo beating expectations.
Stock market investors have gained confidence thanks to US data suggesting the world’s biggest economy is heading for a “soft landing” – with inflation falling back to the Federal Reserve’s target but growth remaining robust and the labour market cooling only slightly.
Oil prices fell sharply, declining for a third straight session, after the Washington Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United States that Israel is willing to strike Iranian military targets and not nuclear or oil ones, as it prepares its response to air strikes this month.
Brent crude futures fell 4.2 per cent to $74.19 a barrel, having dropped 2 per cent overnight, with the market focused on China’s economic slowdown and lower OPEC demand forecasts.
China’s CSI 300 stock index fell 2.7 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid nearly 3.7 per cent as investors were left wanting more details on Beijing’s stimulus plans.
Chinese media reported Beijing may raise an additional 6 trillion yuan ($850 billion) from Treasury bonds over three years to help bolster a sagging economy.
In currency markets, the dollar fell 0.4 per cent to 149.17 yen, pulling back from a 2-1/2-month high of 149.98 overnight.
US 10-year Treasury yields were steady at 4.075 per cent on Tuesday after bond markets were closed on Tuesday.
