Stock Market: Sensex Sheds 224 Points, Nifty Closes Below 19,400. Delta Corp Tanks 23%; IT Drags, PSU Banks Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, UltraCemco, HDFC Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, L&T were among the losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday closed in the red after succumbing to aggressive selling in late deals, ahead of the inflation numbers in India and later today in the US.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined to a low of 65,320, down nearly 500 points when compared to the day’s high of 65,812. The Sensex eventually settled with a loss of 224 points at 65,394. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty closed 55 points lower at 19,384.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Infosys, Tata Motors, UltraCemco, HDFC Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, L&T were among the losers. On the flipside, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Nestle, Titan, SBI, Reliance, and M&M emerged gainers.

Shares of online gaming were in focus after the government imposed 28 per cent GST. Delta Corp nosedived nearly 28 per cent in intra-day deals, and finally ended 23.3 per cent lower.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.5 per cent each.

Sectorwise, pharma, PSU Bank ended in the green, while selling was seen in the information technology and banking names.

In the previous session, S&P BSE Sensex closed 274 points higher at 65,618, while the NSE Nifty settled with a gain of 84 points at 19,439.

"The range-bound movement in the Indian indices was influenced by the likelihood of subdued IT earnings," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, and Hong Kong settled in the green while Tokyo and Shanghai ended lower. Equity markets in Europe were trading in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying momentum as they bought equities worth Rs 1,197.38 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.23 per cent to $79.58 a barrel.

Meanwhile, rising for the third straight session, the rupee gained 19 paise to 82.22 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as weakness in the American currency overseas and steady foreign fund inflows boosted investor sentiment. However, a surge in crude oil prices capped the gains in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.29 against the US dollar and settled 19 paise lower at 82.22 (provisional) against the previous close. During the day, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 82.23 and a low of 82.32.

This is the third straight day of rise for the rupee, during which it has gained 44 paise. On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 82.41 against the dollar.