Sensex, Nifty start on flat note amid mixed global cues; FMCG, energy stocks lead, banks drag

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a flat note on Tuesday tracking a mixed trend in global markets and sustained foreign fund outflow.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 22.82 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 52,758.41 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty inched 7.45 points or 0.05 per cent up to 15,822.15.

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 percent, followed by PowerGrid, L&T, TCS, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech and ITC.

On the other hand, ICICI Bank, M&M, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank and Infosys were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index Sensex ended 189.45 points or 0.36 per cent lower at 52,735.59, while Nifty settled 45.65 points or 0.29 percent down at 15,814.70.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,658.72 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange data.

According to Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, domestic equities look to be flat as of now.

The slew of measures by Finance Minister on Monday to spur economic activities augurs well, he said, adding that the increase in allocation for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme from Rs 3 trillion to Rs 4.5 trillion is a fantastic move to support the pandemic-hit sectors and ensure liquidity, which also offers comfort to banks.

Notably, a sharp fall in daily caseload and satisfactory ramp up in vaccination process have overshadowed concerns emerging from higher crude prices and weakening rupee, he said.

As per V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, the strongest headwind for the market now is the continuous FII selling which is logical in the context of the high valuations.

"With strong DII buying (worth Rs 1,277.08 crore on Monday) and overconfident retail activity, FIIs are now in a position to sell aggressively without pulling the markets down significantly."

On the global front, US stocks ended higher with S&P 500 and Nasdaq recording fresh highs.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with losses in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.55 per cent lower at USD 73.73 per barrel.