The BSE Sensex dropped 728.69 points, or 0.93 per cent, to close at 77,288.50, while Nifty 50 lost 181.80 points, or 0.77 per cent, to settle at 23,486.85. The intraday low of the Sensex was 77,194.22, down 822.97 points.
BIZ DESK
After a seven-day winning spree benchmark Indian equity indices on Wednesday settled in the red, led by profit booking across the counters. The 30-share Sensex shed 728.69 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 77,288.50. The index traded in the range of 78,167.87–77,194.22.
During the last seven sessions, the Sensex had jumped 4,188.28 points, while the Nifty had risen 1,271.45 points, rising 5.67 per cent.
Barring IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corp, Titan Company, and Mahindra & Mahindra, all other 26 constituent stocks of the BSE Sensex settled in the red, with losses extending up to 3.45 per cent on Wednesday.
The NSE Nifty50, on other hand, settled 181.8 points or 0.77 per cent lower at 23,486.85 levels. The index reached a day’s high of 23,736.50, while the intra-day low was recorded at 23,451.70.
Among the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices settled with losses of 0.62 per cent and 1.07 per cent, respectively. Excluding the Nifty Auto index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE settled in the red. Among them, Nifty PSU Bank, IT, Financial Services, Healthcare, Realty, and Oil & Gas indices settled down by over 1 per cent each. Notably, Nifty Auto managed to eke out marginal gains of merely 0.02 per cent.
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Banking, IT stocks drag indices lower
Profit-taking in heavyweight sectors dragged the indices. NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Zomato, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Maruti, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, HUL, and HDFC Bank were among the top losers. IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Power Grid were the gainers.
“The market saw profit-booking following the recent up move, with caution prior to next week’s U.S. tariff announcements. Sectors with high U.S. exposure, such as IT and pharma, witnessed selling pressure,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Global cues add to volatility
Asian markets closed mixed, with Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong higher while Shanghai closed in the red. European markets were lower, following Tuesday’s strong gains in the U.S. markets. In the meantime, Brent crude prices increased 0.58 per cent to USD 73.44 a barrel, keeping inflation fears in the air.
Technical outlook: Nifty at a key support level
Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking highlighted, “Markets declined after a brief pause, shedding over half a per cent amid mixed cues. Following an initial uptick, Nifty remained range-bound in the first half, but profit booking in select heavyweights dragged the index lower as the session progressed. Eventually, it closed near the day’s low at 23,486.85. All major sectors moved in line with the benchmark, with realty, IT, and pharma emerging as the top laggards. The broader indices also extended their decline, falling between 0.7% and 1.2%.