New Delhi: The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday started trade in the red tracking weak global cues following US Fed indicated on Tuesday that the central bank would take more stringent measure in tightening liquidity.
At 9.45 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex was at 59,700, down 476 points, while the broader Nifty was at 17,861, down 96 points.
Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and Ultratech Cement were the only Sensex winners. Coal India, BPCL, UPL, JSW Steel, and Apollo Hospitals were the top Nifty gainers.
On the other hand, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, M&M, TechM, Bajaj Auto, and Tata Consumer were the top laggards, down up to 1.4 per cent.
Midcap and smallcap shares were trading on a negative note as Nifty Midcap 100 moved 0.35 down and smallcap shares shed 0.33 per cent.
14 out of the 15 sector gauges, compiled by the National Stock Exchange, were trading in the red. Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services were underperforming the index by falling as much as 1.16 per cent, respectively. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Auto were also among the laggards. Nifty FMCG and Realty were other notable losers. On the flip side, Nifty Metals, Media, PSBs, and Energy indices were firmly higher.
On Tuesday, Sensex sank 435 points (0.72 per cent) to close at 60,177, while Nifty had moved 96 points (0.53 per cent) lower to settle at 17,957.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks slipped as investors feared aggressive monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve to fight inflation. The focus was also on new Western sanctions against Russia over its Ukraine invasion.
Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) also indicated a gap-down start for the domestic indices. Indices in the US also ended on a lower note on Tuesday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.22 per cent to $106.75 per barrel.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 374.89 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.