Stock Market: Sensex Slides 221 Points, Nifty Trades Below 18,200 In Early Trade. Metal, Realty Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Wipro, M&M, Reliance, and others were trading in the red

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Wednesday turned sharply lower in early morning trade as investors await the minutes of the US Fed's latest policy meeting due later today.

At 9.50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 221 points to 61,028, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 18,162, down 70 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Wipro, M&M, Reliance, and others were trading in the red. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and UltraCemco emerged winners.

Shares of IndusInd Bank gave up gains after rising 2.4 per cent in opening deals. The private lender posted 19 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net advances, at Rs 2.7 trillion, at the end of December 31, 2022.

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) fell 2 per cent even as the company's standalone revenue from operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 (Q3FY23) stood at Rs 11,304.58 crore relative to revenue of Rs 9,065.02 crore at the end of Q3FY22.

Shares of Orient Cement, surged 4 per cent amid media reports that Adani Group is in talks to buy promoter stake in the company. 

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell up to 0.5 per cent.

Sectorally, all but pharma index was down in the dump. The Nifty Metal and Realty indices lost over 1 per cent each. 

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 61,294, up 126 points. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty50 recouped intra-day's losses to close at 18,232, up 35 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee recovered from its all-time low level and rose 18 paise to 82.82 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday on easing crude oil prices. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.87 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch 82.82, registering a rise of 18 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee slumped 22 paise to close at its all-time low of 83 against the dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.11 per cent to $82.01 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 628.07 crore, according to exchange data.