Equity benchmark indices extended their losses for a second straight session on Wednesday, with the Sensex dropping 143 points as selling in power, banking and financial stocks and elevated crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.
Besides, rising US bond yields and persistent FII selling also dampened the trading scenario.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 143.21 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 73,709.69. The index opened in the green and surged 829.29 points, or 1.12 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 74,682.19, before paring early gains to hit a low of 73,229.45.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 77.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 22,811.35. It had climbed to a high of 23,120.90 in early trade before sliding to an intraday low of 22,702.85.
Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Trent, Axis Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki India, IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Titan and State Bank of India were the major laggards.
HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries, ITC, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharmaceuticals were among the gainers.
Meanwhile, the Rs 30,213-crore Jio Platforms IPO was subscribed nearly 3 times on the first day of bidding on Wednesday. The largest public offer so far in India became the fastest-ever IPO to achieve full subscription within 100 minutes of opening.
“Indian equities gave up strong early gains as elevated crude prices and continued FII selling overshadowed optimism surrounding India-US trade negotiations,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.
Profit-booking intensified across auto, financials, metals and realty, reflecting concerns over inflation and margin pressures, while IT showed relative resilience amid improving earnings visibility and renewed investor appetite for the sector, he said.
Nair added that resilient Q2 earnings and robust domestic institutional flows remain important market supports, but weak breadth and persistent foreign selling point to continued caution.
“Near-term direction will depend on the breadth of earnings delivery, progress on trade negotiations and foreign flows, with durable moderation in crude, global yields and currency volatility crucial for market stability,” he said.
Asian markets ended mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index settling higher. On the other hand, Hong Kong”s Hang Seng and Shanghai”s SSE Composite index closed lower.
European markets were trading higher on Wednesday. US markets ended higher on Tuesday. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, crossed the USD 111-per-barrel level, rising by 2.23 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,148.64 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought shares worth Rs 3,201.19 crore, according to exchange data.
On Monday, BSE Sensex tumbled 876.37 points to settle at 73,852.90. The broader NSE Nifty dropped 257.20 points to end at 22,888.95.