Mumbai, Dec 2 (IANS) Indian stock markets opened with a sharp gap-down on Tuesday but soon recovered some losses as investors continued to book profits after the recent rally.

The Sensex was trading at around 85,508, down 134 points or 0.16 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 31 points or 0.12 per cent to 26,145.

“The Nifty’s positional trend remains bullish, with strong support at the 26000-26050 zone. On the higher side, 26300 could offer resistance on a closing basis,” market watchers added.

Heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Tata Motors PV, Titan Company and Power Grid dragged the indices lower.

Eternal also remained under pressure during the early trade.

However, selective buying in stocks like Asian Paints, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, HUL, and L&T helped the Sensex limit its losses and attempt a mild recovery.

In the broader market space, the Nifty MidCap index edged up 0.27 per cent, indicating some buying interest in mid-sized companies. On the other hand, the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.12 per cent.

Sector-wise, financial stocks were among the worst performers, with the Nifty Financial Services index falling 0.7 per cent and the Nifty Bank index dropping 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 0.9 per cent, emerging as the top performer, followed by the Nifty Auto index, which rose 0.4 per cent.

Analysts said that markets remained volatile as traders continued to take profits amid mixed global cues.

“Investors can use the current period of consolidation to slowly accumulate fairly-valued largecaps and growth-oriented midcaps which will lead the next leg of rally in the market,” analysts stated.

The Smallcap segment continues to be over-valued. The Bank Nifty, despite the recent run up, have the potential to impart resilience to the market since there is valuation comfort in this segment. The pick up in credit growth is another positive for the segment.

–IANS

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