BIZ DESK
India’s Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell for the third straight session on Wednesday, pressured by a sharp last-hour selloff in consumer durables, private banking, and IT stocks. The downturn pulled the indices to their lowest levels in nearly a month.
The Nifty 50 slipped 81.65 points (0.32%) to settle at 25,758, after oscillating between an intraday high of 25,947.65 and a low of 25,734.55.
Top Drags (Sensex Constituents)
A cluster of large-cap names weighed heavily on the indices:
- Consumer Durables: Eternal, Trent
- Telecom: Bharti Airtel
- IT & Tech: Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS
- Banks & Financials: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance
- Industrials & Infrastructure: Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
- Auto: Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles
- Cement: UltraTech Cement
- Defence Electronics: Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL)
Top Gainers
Selective buying supported a few frontline stocks:
- Metals: Tata Steel
- Pharma: Sun Pharma
- FMCG: ITC
- Power & Utilities: NTPC, PowerGrid
- Conglomerates & Energy: Reliance Industries
- IT (Selective): HCL Technologies
- Paints: Asian Paints
Sector-Wise Performance Summary
Banking & Financial Services — Weak
Private lenders such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and NBFC Bajaj Finance dragged the sector down due to sustained selling pressure, likely reflecting risk-off sentiment and FII outflows.
Information Technology — Mixed to Negative
Major IT names Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra slipped, indicating caution around global cues and currency movements, although HCL Tech bucked the trend with gains.
Consumer Durables & Retail — Soft
Stocks like Eternal and Trent came under pressure, contributing significantly to the late-session selloff.
Telecom — Negative
Bharti Airtel’s decline weighed on the telecom space.
Infrastructure & Cement — Weak
Both L&T and UltraTech Cement traded lower, reflecting weakness in capital-goods-linked counters.
Auto — Mild Weakness
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles featured among the laggards.
Pharma — Positive
Sun Pharma supported the sector with noticeable gains.
Energy & Conglomerates — Positive
Reliance Industries added strength, aiding the index on a day dominated by declines.
Power & Utilities — Strong
NTPC and PowerGrid were among the top outperformers, indicating defensive buying.
Consumer Staples & Industrials — Mixed
ITC and Asian Paints closed higher, hinting at selective interest in defensives.
Market View
“Indian markets mirrored global caution, weighed down by persistent FII outflows, INR weakness, and uncertainty surrounding US-India trade negotiations,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
He added that central bank signals and clarity on trade developments will likely steer near-term market direction.