Indian shares close lower; Nifty 50 slips 0.61%

Indian equities finished lower on Tuesday, pressured by declines in the fast-moving consumer goods, healthcare, and oil & gas sectors.

At the close on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 fell 0.61% to a fresh one-month low, while the BSE Sensex 30 dropped 0.73%.

Among the Nifty 50's best performers, Bharat Electronics Ltd (NSE:BAJE) rose 1.66% or 6.70 points to close at 410.70. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (NSE:ONGC) added 1.32% or 3.08 points to end at 236.78, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (NSE:HLL) gained 1.03% or 20.10 points to trade at 1,980.10 in late session activity.

Leading the losses, ICICI Bank Ltd (NSE:ICBK) fell 1.97% or 28.10 points to close at 1,399.40. Axis Bank Ltd (NSE:AXBK) declined 1.67% or 21.10 points to settle at 1,244.90, while SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd (NSE:SBIL) was down 1.54% or 26.70 points at 1,705.30.

On the BSE Sensex 30, the top performers included Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (BO:APSE), which rose 1.06% to 1,708.85. Hindustan Unilever Ltd (BO:HLL) climbed 0.84% to settle at 1,982.50, and Nestle India Ltd (BO:NEST) gained 0.69% to close at 1,404.65.

The Sensex's worst performers were ICICI Bank Ltd (BO:ICBK), down 2.00% to 1,399.50 in late trade, Axis Bank Ltd (BO:AXBK), which lost 1.72% to settle at 1,245.45, and UltraTech Cement Ltd (BO:ULTC), which declined 1.23% to close at 11,050.00.

Market breadth was negative on the National Stock Exchange, where 1,380 stocks declined against 1,223 advancing and 46 unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,132 stocks fell, 1,970 advanced, and 179 ended flat.

Shares of SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd (NSE:SBIL) touched a 52-week low, closing 1.54% or 26.70 points lower at 1,705.30.

The India VIX, an indicator of implied volatility for Nifty 50 options, was up 0.63% at 11.23.

December gold futures fell 0.74% (or $32.96) to $4,443.64 per troy ounce. In other commodities, October crude oil advanced 2.43% (or $2.22) to $93.70 a barrel, while November Brent rose 1.43% (or $1.39) to $98.39 a barrel.

In currency markets, USD/INR rose 0.36% to 94.82, while EUR/INR gained 0.26% to 110.11.

The U.S. Dollar Index Futures declined 0.20% to 98.96.