The Indian equity indices on Tuesday closed lower after hitting record highs during the day majorly pushed by IT and metal stocks. The Nifty 50 hit a new high of 22,783.35 but slashed those gains and closed 39 points or 0.17% lower at 22,604.85. Sensex dropped 189 points or 0.25% to close the day’s trading at 74,482.78. The losers included Tech Mahindra, BPCL, JSW Steel, HCL Tech, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. The Indian Volatility Index (India VIX) shot up 5.15%. 

Similarly, Nifty Bank pared intraday record gains and closed in the red. It touched an all-time high of 49,974.75 points and finally closed 39 points or 0.17% lower, than its previous close, at 49,396.75. “The Bank Nifty witnessed a volatile trading session during the expiry day, with bulls dominating the first half and bears taking control in the second half,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities. “Although the index fell short of reaching the 50,000 mark, the overall sentiment remains bullish. Dips in the index should be seen as buying opportunities, especially with strong support noted around the 49,000 mark, where the highest open interest lies on the put side.”

Bucking the trend, Nifty Midcap 100 closed 33.75 points or 0.07% higher at 50,868.20 after touching a new lifetime high of 51,232.35. 

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On the sectoral front, IT, metal, and oil & gas stocks pulled the indices lower. In the broader indices, smallcap and midcap stocks closed in the green, except for the Nifty Smallcap 100 closing 0.04% lower. 

“The Bank Nifty was clearly an outperforming sector and was also partially responsible for supporting Nifty in Tuesday’s trading session. The important key take away for Bank Nifty is that it closed above the crucial resistance zone of 49,000 to 49,100 (Previous ATH area) for two consecutive days, which is a positive sign. On the downside, the support zone lies at 49,000-100 / 48,300-400 while the resistance is seen at 49,500 / 50,000,” said Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkX.

“Global markets remained mixed ahead of US FED policy meet, as markets appear to have already factored in the slim chance of a near-term rate cut. Profit booking ensued towards a close given the sharp rally in the last couple of days and a holiday-led truncated week. Domestic initial Q4 corporate earnings forecasts were conservative; however, Nifty50 companies’ earnings till date have remained marginally better, with the exception being the IT sector, while auto and realty continue to be robust,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.