Sensex breaks over 400 points in early trade; Nifty has gone below 18,000.
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 400 points in early trade on Wednesday led by losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Infosys amid a negative trend in global markets and sustained foreign fund outflows.
In early deals, the 30-share index was trading at 60,016, down 417.45 points or 0.69 per cent. Similarly, Nifty closed at 17,922.15, down 122. 10 points or 0.68 per cent.
Tata Steel was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling nearly 2 per cent, followed by HDFC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, HUL and Asian Paints.
On the other hand, M&M, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Dr Reddy’s were among the gainers.
In the previous session, the Sensex was down 112.16 points or 0.19 per cent at 60,433.45 and the Nifty was down 24.30 points or 0.13 per cent at 18,044.25.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 2,445.25 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Even though the market looks resilient, the bulls are facing a major headwind in the form of continued selling by FIIs.
“The ‘buy-on-dip’ strategy of retail investors and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) is countered with the ‘sell-on-rally’ strategy of FIIs. This tug-of-war between retail/DII vs FII is likely to continue. is short term.
“If the global environment for equities turns weak, quick selloff by FIIs could trigger a modest short-term correction in the market,” he added.
Further, he added that the highlight of the day’s session is likely to be Nykaa listing and trading.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with losses in mid-session deals. Major indices on Wall Street ended the overnight session on a negative note.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.40 per cent to $85.12 a barrel.
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