By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes closed little changed on Tuesday as losses in IndusInd Bank and information technology stocks offset gains in other companies, while the sentiment remained grim due to worries over the U.S. economy.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.17% higher at 22,497.90, while the Sensex fell 0.02% to 74,102.32. Intraday, the indexes fell 0.6% each.
The broader markets were mixed, with the midcaps rising 0.7% and the smallcaps closing 0.8% lower.
Other Asian markets slipped following an overnight plunge in Wall Street equities after U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday refused to predict whether the world’s largest economy could face a recession amid concerns over his tariff policies. [MKTS/GLOB]
“We felt that we were close to (the) bottom last week. But now there is more uncertainty due to U.S. economic data and doubts if the U.S. economy is getting into recession,” said Anita Gandhi, founder and head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Markets.
Indian stocks logged their biggest gains in three months last week on likely bargain buying following the recent decline.
The blue-chip indexes are down about 15% from the record high hit in September 2024, while the broader mid- and smallcaps continue to be in bear grip, down more than 20% from lifetime highs.
Eight of the 13 major sectors advanced, with oil and gas 1.2%, helped by oil marketing companies on valuation comfort and lower crude prices.
IT stocks fell 0.65%, hit hard by U.S. growth worries, given they earn a substantial portion of their revenue from the geography.
IndusInd Bank plunged 27.2% to its lowest in over four years after reporting discrepancies in its derivatives accounting, which brokerages said raised questions about the lender’s “credibility”.
Heavyweight ICICI Bank’s 2.5% jump offset some of the losses and pulled financials higher.
Sun Pharma gained 2.7% after multiple brokerages said that its acquisition of Checkpoint provides access to the skin cancer segment.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Janane Venkatraman)
