Share Market Today: The two key equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday closed in the red due to selling in IT and auto shares amid unabated foreign fund outflows and weak trends in global markets. The BSE Sensex shed 319 points to close at 81,501. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 24,971, dropping 86 points.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Infosys, Adani Ports, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, Titan were among the losers. On the flip side, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Asian Paints, SBI were the only gainers.
Among the broader markets, the BSE Midcap closed flat and Smallcap index jumped 0.3 per cent.
Sectoral update
The Auto and IT sectors were the top laggards among sectoral indices, closing down by over 1 per cent each. Other sectors, including Media, Metal, Pharma, FMCG, Realty, Private Banks, Consumer Durables, and Healthcare, also ended in the red on Wednesday. However, indices for Financial Services, Realty, and OMCs managed to post modest gains of up to 0.55 per cent.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex settled at 81,820.12, slipping more than 150 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed the day at 25,057.35, dropping almost 71 points.
"The market traded range bound with a negative bias due to the fear of a downgrade in FY25 earnings, which could impact the sustainability of premium valuation," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,748.71 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global update
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower, while Shanghai ended in the positive territory. European markets were trading in the negative territory. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.08 per cent to $74.32 a barrel.
Rupee rises 4 paise
The rupee witnessed a range-bound trade and strengthened marginally by 4 paise to 84 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as easing crude oil prices supported investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range as a strong dollar and a muted tone in the domestic equities weighed on the local unit, while weak crude oil prices and any likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) supported the local currency at lower levels.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 84.03 and traded in a narrow range of 83.98 and 84.07 and finally settled for the day at 84.00 (provisional), higher by 4 paisa over its previous close of 84.04 against the dollar.