Initially, the 30-share BSE Sensex saw a positive start, climbing 116.42 points to 71,188.91 points, but later reversed course, dropping 129.92 points to 70,942.57 points.
The broader Nifty initially rose 14.80 points to 21,630.85 points before retreating and declining 63.25 points to 21,552.80 points.
Among the Sensex, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, PowerGrid, and Wipro faced losses, while ICICI Bank, NTPC, ITC, and Kotak Bank were trading in positive territory.
The BSE smallcap index fell by 1.65 per cent, the midcap index dropped 0.57 per cent, and the largecap index slipped 0.12 per cent. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, suggested that midcap and smallcap stocks could experience significant declines due to overvaluation, presenting opportunities to purchase fairly valued stocks like PSU banks.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and China's Shanghai Composite were trading positively, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was in negative territory. European markets closed Monday's session on a positive note, with France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX rising by 0.55 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively.
In the US, Monday's market performance was mixed. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.09 per cent to USD 82.07 a barrel on Tuesday.
Previously, on Monday, the Sensex closed 523 points, or 0.73 per cent lower at 71,072.49 points, and the Nifty concluded 166.45 points or 0.76 per cent down at 21,616.05 points. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Monday, purchasing equities worth Rs 126.60 crore, according to exchange data.
(With PTI inputs)
READ MORE: Retail inflation eases to 3-month low of 5.1 pc in January 2024: Govt data
