Markets in choppy waters; Sensex drops 368 points dragged by bank stocks          

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in a highly volatile trade on Tuesday dragged down by blue-chip bank stocks and caution ahead of domestic and US inflation data.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 368.49 points or 0.46 per cent to settle at 80,235.59. During the day, it hit a high of 80,997.67 and a low of 80,164.36, gyrating 833.31 points.

The 50-share NSE Nifty went lower by 97.65 points or 0.40 per cent to 24,487.40.

Investors are also awaiting cues from the US-Russia talks on August 15.

From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

However, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra and NTPC were among the major gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi settled lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended in positive territory.

European markets were trading on a mixed note.

The US markets ended lower on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 66.75 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,202.65 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the Sensex jumped 746.29 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 80,604.08. The Nifty climbed 221.75 points or 0.91 per cent to 24,585.05.