Equity benchmarks slipped from near record highs on Tuesday, weighed down by heavyweight stocks Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, while quarterly business updates drove stock-specific moves. The Nifty 50 fell 0.27 per cent to 26178.7 and the Sensex lost 0.44 per cent to 85063.34. The indexes are down 0.6 per cent and 0.8 per cent in two sessions.

Ten of the 16 major sectors gained. Small-caps and mid-caps dropped 0.2 per cent each.

A persistent negative rhetoric from Trump could have a detrimental effect on India’s stock market at a time when it has been anticipating the capping of US tariffs to 25 per cent from the current 50 per cent and the subsequent finalisation of a full trade deal, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.

HDFC Bank dropped 1.6 per cent, adding to Monday’s 2.4 per cent drop, on concerns over slower deposit growth. Trent tumbled 8.62 per cent after the retail firm’s revenue growth in the December quarter failed to cheer investors. JSW Steel fell 0.8 per cent, while Tata Steel came off highs after Reuters reported that the companies breached antitrust law.

Apollo Hospitals jumped 3.7 per cent and topped the gainers’ list on Nifty after Citi raised its price target for the stock on strong earnings visibility. ICICI Bank rose 2.9 per cent and led financials 0.3 per cent higher on optimism over improvement in credit growth and earnings in the December quarter.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹36.25 crore on Monday after a day’s breather, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors, however, bought stocks worth ₹1,764.07 crore.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended significantly higher. Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. Brent crude climbed 0.28 per cent to $61.93
per barrel.