Stock Market Recoups Losses: Sensex Slips 44 Points, Nifty Trades Below 17,900. Airtel Sinks 3.5 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel falls over 3.5 per cent. Reliance, HUL, M&M, Nestle, Asian Paint were the other losers

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Wednesday opened lower amid volatility, tracking tepid foreign flows and rising oil prices. The Sensex declined over 300 points, while the NSE Nifty was down 90 points in early trade.

At 9.45 am, the benchmarks recouped some of the losses. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 44 points to 60,071, while the broader NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,893, down 21 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel falls over 3.5 per cent. Reliance, HUL, M&M, Nestle, Asian Paint were the other losers. On the flip side, HCL, Tata Motors, TechM, UltraCemco, Infosys, TCS, and others were trading in the green.

Among individual stocks, shares of Adani Wilmar gained over 2 per cent after the company saw strong volume growth in Q3 business update. Shares of Uttam Sugar Mills surged over 5 per cent after the company increased its distillery capacity for ethanol at Barkartpur plant.

In the broader markets, Nifty SmallCap 100 index outperformed Nifty MidCap 100 index.

Sectorwise, Nifty IT, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal indices were off to a decent start as they surged up to 0.5 per cent. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty indices, however, declined the most, up to 0.2 per cent.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled at 60,115, down 631 points, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 17,914, down 187 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee rose 13 paise to 81.61 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday supported by 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 81.73 against the dollar, then gained ground to touch 81.61, registering a rise of 13 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 81.74 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.71 per cent to $79.53 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,109.34 crore, according to exchange data.