Benchmark indices edge lower; Sensex dips 150 points; Nifty below 10,750

Equity benchmark indices were subdued on Tuesday in lackluster trading amid mixed cues from Asian peers.

At 11:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex dipped 150 points at 36,420 while the Nifty 50 slipped below 10,750.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red except for Nifty IT which moved up by 1.7%, pharma by 0.8%, and auto by 0.5%.

IT stocks appeared to be the flavour of the day with Infosys gaining by 2.6% to Rs 784.50 per share. Wipro was up by 1.6%, HCL Technologies by 1.5% and Tech Mahindra by 1.3%

Auto stocks also gained marginally with Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors moving up by 1.6% each and Maruti Suzuki by 1.1%.

However, Power Grid Corporation slipped by 2.5% to Rs 173.40 per share. Grasim was down by 2.4%, ONGC by 2.1%, ITC by 1.7%, and Tata Steel by 1.6%.

Meanwhile, Asian indices traded mixed despite a strong close on Wall Street overnight. In Japan, Nikkei traded down by 0.7% as the market participants seemed concerned over the rising number of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo.

China`s Shanghai Composite was up by nearly 1% higher and Hong Kong`s Hang Seng traded just above the neutral line.

(With ANI inputs)