Stock markets become erratic following initial advances

Stock markets indices rose more than 300 points in early trade on Tuesday but quickly became volatile as investors withdrew to the sidelines amid ongoing foreign fund withdrawals and growing Middle East tensions.

In early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 339.67 points to 64,452.32. The Nifty increased by 92.8 points to 19,233.70.

Later, in a turbulent session, both benchmark indices quoted flat. The 30-share BSE index was down 44.50 points at 64,068.15, while the Nifty was down 7.85 points at 19,133.05.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Power Grid, ITC, and HDFC Bank were the top gainers on the Sensex.

Among the laggards were Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, and Maruti.

In Asian markets, Tokyo was up, while Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were down.

On Monday, the US markets finished considerably higher.

Brent crude rose 0.41 percent to USD 87.81 a barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold securities worth Rs 1,761.86 crore on Monday.

On Monday, the BSE index rose 329.85 points, or 0.52 percent, to 64,112.65. The Nifty gained 93.65 points, or 0.49 percent, to 19,140.90.

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