Mumbai, May 19 (IANS) Indian benchmark equity indices erased their intra-day gains and closed lower on Tuesday as weakness in banking, financial and metal stocks weighed on investor sentiment.

The Sensex declined 114.19 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 75,200.85. The Nifty settled 31.95 points, or 0.14 per cent, lower at 23,618.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that a sustained move above the 23,700–23,800 region will be essential to strengthen recovery momentum toward the psychological 24,000 mark, where stronger selling pressure is likely to emerge.

“On the downside, the 23,600–23,500 zone continues to remain a crucial immediate support area, and a decisive breakdown below this region could extend weakness toward the broader 23,300 zone,” a market expert mentioned.

Among the major laggards in the Nifty index were Titan Company, UltraTech Cement and Tata Consumer Products.

Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top loser on Sensex. Other top laggards were Titan Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and IndiGo.

On the other hand, Infosys led the gainers pack. HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and TCS were among top gainers on the same index.

The Indian rupee weakened sharply during the session, falling 25 paise to touch a fresh low of 96.61 against the US dollar.

The currency eventually settled at 95.53 per dollar, compared to its previous close of 95.36.

Sectorally, banking and financial shares remained under pressure throughout the session.

The Nifty Private Bank index emerged as the worst-performing sectoral index, while the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices also underperformed the broader market.

However, some sectors managed to buck the weak trend. The Nifty IT, Nifty Realty and Nifty Chemical indices ended higher and outperformed the benchmark indices.

Broader markets showed resilience despite weakness in frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap index rose 0.91 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index gained 1.17 per cent during the session.

Meanwhile, Rupee traded weaker by around 10 paise near 96.53, as elevated crude oil prices and continued pressure on capital flows kept the currency under stress.

“The broader trend remains weak, with rupee expected to trade in a range of 96.25–97.00 in the near term,” an analyst stated.

–IANS

pk