Closing Bell: Sensex up 136 points, Nifty at 25,100; Jio Finance leads, Tata Motors, Axis Bank tank

The Indian equity indices closed a notch higher on Tuesday, though they pared some gains from the day's high after investors sought to profit booking. 

The Sensex closed 136 points or 0.17% higher, at 81,926.75, and the Nifty50 ended at 25,108.30, up 31 points, or 0.12%. Sensex has clocked an intraday high of 82,309.56, while the Nifty gained to cross the 25,200-mark, at 25,220.90.

Jio Finance led the Nifty50 index, advancing by 1.42%, bringing its share price to ₹310. Bharti Airtel and HCL Technologies filled the Top 3 spots, each rising by 1.35% and 1.26%, respectively. 

On the other end, Tata Motors and Axis Bank were the top laggards, each declining by 2.04%. Trent, which was the top loser in the morning trade, declined 1.93% after posting a slower Q2 growth for the current financial year. 

Out of the 50 constituents of the Nifty benchmark index, 22 stocks advanced, 27 declined, and one remained unchanged. Whereas on the Sensex index, out of the 30 stocks, only 13 advanced, and 23 declined. 

Amongst sectoral indices, Nifty Realty outshone the rest, rising by 1.09%. Nifty Pharma too rose by 0.44%. Among losers, Nifty FMCG led the fall, dropping by 0.53%, after investors pared gains as the sectoral index was on a rise for two consecutive sessions. Nifty IT, which saw a marginal increase in the early hours of trade, closed 0.04% below. 

Broader markets remained resilient, with all except Nifty Microcap 50 ending in the positive zone. Nifty Midcap 50 advanced by 0.47% and Nifty Smallcap 50 rose by 0.29%. Despite investors paring gains for the benchmark indices to settle lower, but well above yesterday’s closing, the India VIX reflected the upbeat market outlook, as it eased down by 1.39%, to settle at 10.05. 

Out of 3,184 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,433 advanced, while 1,634 declined, and 117 remained unchanged. Whereas, on the BSE, 1,761 stocks were gainers, but the losers were doubled, with 2,420 stocks declining, while 141 stocks remained unchanged.