Stock Market: Sensex Plunges 551 Points; Nifty Settles Below 19,700. Pharma Shines, Bank Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj twins, NTPC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance were among the prime losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday plunged in the red following heavy selling pressure across the board amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices. The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 551 points to end at 65,877. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 shut shop at 19,671, down 141 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj twins, NTPC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance were among the prime losers. On the flip side, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Maruti, and M&M were the only gainers. Among specific stocks, Bajaj Finance declined 2.9 per cent after its Q2FY24 results, and closed as the top large-cap laggard.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index declined 0.85 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index shed 0.32 per cent.

Sectorwise, the Nifty Pharma and Media indices managed to secure gains of 0.78 per cent and 0.27 per cent, respectively. On the downside, the Nifty Bank, Financial Services, PSU Bank, and Private Bank indices dropped over 1 per cent each.  

In the previous session, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 261 points to end at 66,428, while the NSE Nifty50 shut shop at 19,812, up 80 points.

In Asian markets, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in negative territory, while Seoul and Tokyo settled in the green. European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.36 per cent to $92.92 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 263.68 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee settled 2 paise lower at 83.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking negative cues from domestic equity markets amid surging crude oil prices overseas. However, fresh foreign capital inflows and a weak greenback against major rivals overseas favoured the rupee and restricted the loss, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.24 against the dollar and traded in a narrow range of 83.23 to 83.27. It finally settled at 83.27 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a loss of 2 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 83.25 against the US dollar.