Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 7 (ANI): Indian equity markets ended marginally lower on Tuesday as investors booked profits in the second half of the trading session amid weakness across Asian markets and caution ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

The NSE Nifty 50 settled at 24,398.70, down 31.65 points or 0.13 per cent, while the BSE Sensex closed at 78,180.72, falling 104.35 points or 0.13 per cent.

Market experts said investor sentiment turned cautious as markets tracked weak cues from other Asian markets while participants awaited the US Fed minutes for further direction.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, 'Profit booking emerged in the latter half of the session as weakness across Asian markets and investor caution ahead of the US Fed minutes weighed on sentiment. However, IT stocks continued to lend support, extending gains ahead of the June-quarter earnings season as the sector recovered from recent corrections.'

He added that with concerns surrounding the US-Iran conflict and trade tariffs easing, market attention is now shifting towards Q1FY27 corporate earnings and the progress of the monsoon.

According to Nair, improving foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a stable rupee are expected to provide near-term support to the broader market.

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty IT was the only sector to close in positive territory, rising 2.43 per cent on expectations ahead of the June-quarter earnings season.

All other major sectoral indices ended lower. Nifty Realty declined 1.73 per cent, Nifty Metal lost 1.14 per cent, Nifty Pharma fell 0.76 per cent, Nifty Media slipped 0.75 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank was down 0.47 per cent, while Nifty Auto declined 0.12 per cent.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, SBI Life Insurance and Titan were the top gainers at the close.

On the losing side, Trent, Adani Enterprises, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Adani Ports, Max Healthcare and TMPV were among the major laggards.

In the commodities market, Brent crude oil prices rose 1.18 per cent and were trading at USD 72.86 per barrel at the time of filing this report.

Asian markets largely remained under pressure during the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.61 per cent to 68,630, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.83 per cent to 23,421, Taiwan's weighted index dropped 2.37 per cent to 45,479, while South Korea's KOSPI plunged 5 per cent to 7,656. Singapore's Straits Times was the only major Asian index to end higher, gaining 1.57 per cent.

The market's focus is now expected to remain on the US Fed minutes, the upcoming Q1FY27 earnings season and the progress of the monsoon. (ANI)