Stock Market: Sensex Sinks 150 Points, Nifty Below 19,400. Financials, Banks, Metals Top Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj twins, Tata Steel, Airtel, Kotak Bank emerged in the red. ITC, TechM, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, SBI were among the gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday started on a weak note, tracking losses mainly in banking and financial sectors. The domestic indices, which dived deeply in opening trade, gradually recouped some of their losses. At 9.48 am, the BSE Sensex dropped 154 points to 65,248. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,371, down 63 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj twins, Tata Steel, Airtel, Kotak Bank emerged in the red. On the flip side, ITC, TechM, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, SBI, HUL were among the gainers. Among specific stocks, shares of ITC gained 1 per cent in a weak market after the conglomerate's consolidated net profit rose 16.29 per cent YoY in the June-ended quarter. Infosys rose 1 per cent after the IT services company signed a multi-year deal with Liberty Global.

In the broader markets, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell up to 0.5 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nifty Financial Services index was the worst hit (down 1 per cent), followed by Nifty Bank (down 0.9 per cent), and Nifty Metal indices (down 0.8 per cent). Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media, and Nifty IT indices outperformed the benchmark indices, surging up to 0.7 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the Sensex ended at 65,402, up 79 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 19,435, up 6 points. The equity market remained closed on Tuesday on account of Independence Day.

Retail inflation spiked to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July as tomatoes, vegetables and other food items turned costlier, overshooting Reserve Bank's comfort level for the first time in the current fiscal. "There are strong headwinds, both globally and domestically, that can impact the market in the near term. Global headwinds are from the rising dollar index and spiking US bond yields. Consequently FIIs are selling. Domestically, the major headwind is the rising inflation," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.24 per cent to $84.69 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,324.23 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.