Benchmark stock market indices closed lower on Wednesday, dragged by declines in heavyweight stock Reliance Industries and IT sector stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex was down by 176.43 points to 83,536.08, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 46.40 points to 25,476.10 as of 3:47 pm.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that key indices remained largely range-bound, while domestic consumption themes continued to anchor investor sentiment.
“Early commentary from FMCG and discretionary players suggests green shoots of recovery, supported by easing inflation, a healthy monsoon, and rising rural demand,” he added.
The top five gainers were Bajaj Finance up 1.40%, Hindustan Unilever up 1.26%, UltraTech Cement up 0.90%, Power Grid up 0.59%, and Asian Paints up 0.57%.
HCL Technologies crashed 2.03%, Tata Steel fell 1.82%, Tech Mahindra dropped 1.39%, Reliance declined 1.28%, and Bharti Airtel was down 1.01%.
Nifty Midcap100 fell 0.13%, Nifty Smallcap100 rose 0.59%, and India VIX declined 2.09%.
Among the sectoral indices, the gainers were Nifty Auto up 0.38%, Nifty Financial Services rising 0.18%, Nifty FMCG up 0.80%, Nifty Pharma gaining 0.19%, Nifty PSU Bank up 0.43%, and Nifty Consumer Durables rising 0.48%.
The losing sectors included Nifty IT down 0.78%, Nifty Media falling 0.39%, Nifty Metal declining 1.40%, Nifty Private Bank down 0.07%, Nifty Realty dropping 1.49%, Nifty Healthcare down 0.36%, and Nifty Oil & Gas falling 1.25%.
“Despite global trade tensions and commodity tariffs, investor focus is increasingly shifting toward domestic earnings and structural growth drivers, including a likely sequential recovery in urban demand and a pickup in infrastructure-led spending,” said Nair.