Stock Market: Sensex Plunges 677 Points, Nifty Around 19,500 On Weak Global Cues. All Sectors In The Red

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle, HUL, Asian Paints, TechM were the only four which ended in the green

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday roiled under acute global pressure after rating agency Fitch downgraded credit rating of the US to AA+ from AAA. The S&P BSE Sensex crashed over 1,000 points intra-day before settling at 65,783, down 677 points. On the other hand, the Nifty50 went down to 19,423, eventually closed at 19,527, down 207 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle, HUL, Asian Paints, TechM were the only four which ended in the green. On the downside, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, JSW Steel, SBI were among the top losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped about 1.4 per cent each.

Sectorwise, the Nifty PSU Bank index was the worst hit among a broad-based selling as it fell 2.6 per cent, followed by the Nifty Metal index (down 2 per cent).

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 66,459, down 68 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,734, down 20 points.

"The Indian market witnessed a broad sectoral slide, affected by weak global market trends. Negative news regarding the US rating downgrade on fiscal concerns, coupled with weak factory activity data from Eurozone and China, led to widespread worries across the globe. Additionally, prolonged FII selling, triggered by a rise in US bond yields, has disrupted the mood of the domestic market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading in the red. The US markets ended mostly in the negative territory on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 92.85 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.80 per cent to $85.59 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee fell 38 paise to settle at 82.60 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday on weak domestic equities and elevated crude prices in international markets. Rupee is trading in a negative note on risk aversion in global markets and weak Asian currencies. There is also downside pressure on the local unit due to foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.38 against the dollar and finally ended the day at 82.60 (provisional), registering a fall of 38 paise from its previous close. During the session, the local unit touched a peak of 82.37 and hit the lowest level of 82.62. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 82.22 against the dollar.