Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Aug 17 : Equity benchmark indices fluctuated between gains and losses on Tuesday but closed in the green amid losses in Asian markets. Investors, however, remained concerned about the outlook of domestic and global macroeconomic data after the spread of Covid-19 virus. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 210 points or 0.38 per cent at 55,792 while the Nifty 50 moved higher by 52 points or 0.31 per cent to 16,615. Sectoral indices were mixed with Nifty IT surging by 2.3 per cent, FMCG by 1.4 per cent and pharma by 0.5 per cent. But Nifty PSU bank was down by 1.8 per cent, private bank by 0.8 per cent, realty by 0.7 per cent and finance service by 0.3 per cent. Among stocks, Wipro advanced by 3.3 per cent to Rs 634.25 per share while Tech Mahindra was up by 3.5 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services by 2.1 per cent and Infosys by 1.9 per cent. Tata Consumer Products jumped by 3.8 per cent, Hindustan Unilever by 2.4 per cent, Nestle India by 2.3 per cent, Titan by 1.2 per cent, Bajaj Auto by 1.5 per cent and Hero MotoCorp by 1.2 per cent. However, among the laggards were JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Coal India, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel. Meanwhile, Asian shares declined as growing anxiety over the spike in the Delta variant of Covid-19 infections and turmoil in Afghanistan eclipsed overnight strength on Wall Street. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped by 1.66 per cent on China economy worries. South Korea’s Kospi was down by 0.89 while Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 0.36 per cent as virus worries outweighed upbeat earnings cheer.
