Benchmark indices were trading lower during the afternoon on Tuesday, dragged by metals, auto and financials.

Market, which opened on a flat note amid mixed global cues soon slipped into the red. It extended losses during the first half owing to selling pressure. However, gains in FMCG and Pharma stocks helped markets stay in a range.

At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was at 52,612.94, down 122.65 points or 0.23 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 52,816.42 and a low of 52,516.56.

The Nifty 50 was at 15,767.45, down 47.25 points or 0.3 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 15,835.90 and a low of 15,742.55.

Also read: Nifty Call: Go long above 15,830 levels with a fixed stop-loss

Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Divi's Lab, Cipla and Dr Reddy were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Hindalco, ONGC, IOC, Maruti and ICICI Bank were the top laggards.

According to Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, CapitalVia Global Research Ltd, In morning trade, Indian equity benchmarks remained in negative territory, tracking Asian peers.

Market sentiments remained negative as domestic rating agency ICRA stated that the impact of the second Covid-19 wave is expected to raise the non-performing assets ratio for some lenders by up to 1 per cent in FY22, he added.

"On Monday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs, propelled by tech stocks, as investors anticipate a strong earnings season while interest rates remain low. Asian markets were trading mostly in red on concerns of new coronavirus outbreaks in the region despite the positive cues from Wall Street," said Garg.

FMCG, Pharma in focus

On the sectoral front, only FMCG and Pharma managed to extend gains with all indices except Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pharma trading in the red. Metals, auto and financials dragged.

Also read: Sensex, Nifty start on flat note amid mixed global cues

Nifty Metal was down 0.85 per cent while Nifty Auto was down 0.60 per cent. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were down 0.77 and 0.55 per cent, respectively. Nifty PSU Bank also erased the previous session's gains and was down 0.79 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG was up 0.32 per cent while Nifty Pharma was up 0.53 per cent.

Broader indices

Midcap and Smallcap stocks were trading flat. Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.15 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.03 per cent.

The S&P BSE Midcap was down 0.08 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.24 per cent. The volatility index fell 1.67 per cent to 13.18.

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