Equity markets in India saw high levels of volatility on Tuesday, with the major Sensex index losing about 800 points from its intra-day high after giving up some of its early gains. This came due to caution shown by investors, in light of some conflicting signals globally, higher crude oil prices and geopolitical issues.

The Sensex had started off on a positive note due to expectations of bargain hunting following recent falls. However, during the trading session, the optimism had waned somewhat, with the Sensex falling into negative territory. The Nifty was also under pressure and fell below the 23,400 mark during the trading session.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) had come in for some selling pressure along with UltraTech Cement. Both the stocks were weighing down on the index.

The mood of the markets continued to be highly vulnerable to any changes happening in international oil prices and geopolitical scenarios. Brent crude was quite high at more than $100 a barrel, posing risks of high inflation and their effects on the economy and profits of Indian firms.

Foreign bond yields and monetary policy decisions by central banks are being closely watched by investors. Increasing US Treasury yields have made yet another uncertain aspect for emerging market shares, and the activities of foreign institutional investors have been quite relevant in this regard.

However, despite the weak performance of the benchmarks, there were some sectors which remained quite robust. Shares of technology firms performed relatively well, as the Nifty IT index rose in the session. Thus, there was a contradictory scenario in the markets, with selling dominating in many big shares but some selected sectors drawing buying interest.

Investors are expected to monitor crude oil prices, international market cues, foreign fund movements and geopolitics in the coming sessions.