new Delhi: Major domestic equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty fell on Wednesday as global markets remained mixed due to volatility.
Both the indices added to their early gains and declined sharply during the late hours of trading.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 304 points (0.53 per cent) down at 57,684.82. During the day, it fell 420 points (0.72 per cent) to 57,568. The broader NSE Nifty ended 69.85 points (0.4 per cent) lower at 17,245.65.
HDFC, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Britannia, Sun Pharma, Maruti and Bajaj Auto were the major drags, falling between 1.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent. In contrast, Divis Labs, Hindalco, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Tata Steel rose over 2 per cent each.
Among individual stocks, One97 Communications, the parent company of digital payments major Paytm, hit a new low of Rs 520, down over 4 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index closed down 0.4 per cent and the BSE Smallcap index by 0.2 per cent.
Of the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange, eight ended in the red. Nifty Auto and Nifty Financial Services lost 1.04 per cent and 0.88 per cent, respectively, in the index. However, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma were up 1.21 per cent and 0.42 per cent, respectively.
“Following the recent rally, markets are turning cautious. Volatility is back due to inflationary pressures due to supply constraints. Rising input costs and declining demand due to rise in COVID cases in some parts of the world, Warfare and higher commodity prices are likely to weigh down the outlook, impacting earnings growth, Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, told PTI.
In the previous trade, the BSE Sensex closed at 57,989.30 with a gain of 696 points (1.22 per cent). Nifty climbed 197.90 points (1.16 per cent) to end at 17,315.50.
Equity exchanges in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai ended with gains after US stocks ended largely in the overnight session. European shares were also trading with gains.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.12 per cent to $117.8 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 384.48 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.