In Volatile Market, Sensex Slides 304 Points, Nifty Settles Below 17,250

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index closed 0.4 per cent higher while the BSE Smallcap index slipped 0.2 per cent

New Delhi: The key domestic equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday fell as global markets remained mixed due to volatility.

The two indices paired their early gains and declined sharply during the late hours of the trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was declined by 304 points (0.53 per cent) to settle at 57,684.82. During the day, it tanked 420 points (0.72 per cent) to 57,568. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 69.85 points (0.4 per cent) to finish 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. On the contrary, Divis Labs, Hindalco, Dr Reddy's Labs, and Tata Steel rose over 2 per cent each.

Among individual shares, 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 Wednesday's intra-day trade. 

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index closed 0.4 per cent higher while the BSE Smallcap index slipped 0.2 per cent.

Eight out of the 15 sector gauges, compiled by the National Stock Exchange, ended in the red. Nifty Auto and Nifty Financial Services underperformed the index by falling as much as 1.04 per cent and 0.88 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma surged as much as 1.21 per cent and 0.42 per cent, respectively.

"After the recent rally, market is getting cautious. Volatility is back due to inflationary pressures triggered by supply constraints. While consistently rising input cost & fall in demand due to surge in Covid cases in parts of the world, war & high commodity prices are impacting earnings growth which can lead to downgrade in outlook," Vinod Nair, head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, told PTI.

In the previous trade, the BSE Sensex closed up by 696 points (1.22 per cent) at 57,989.30. The Nifty climbed 197.90 points (1.16 per cent) to finish at 17,315.50.

Equity exchanges in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai ended with gains after the US stocks ended largely higher in the overnight session. European stocks were also trading higher.

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.