Stock Market: Sensex Sinks 140 Points, Nifty Holds 17,600; Dreamfolks Lists At 55 Per Cent Premium

Stock update: Tech Mahindra was the prime loser, down 1.29 per cent. The other laggards were Nestle, Bajaj twins, Asian Paints, Wipro, Kotak Bank on the Sensex platform

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, which started trade on a positive note on Tuesday, erased their losses and slipped into the red. Early in the day, the domestic indices extended their previous day gains in line with the strength in majority of Asian markets and buying in index major Reliance Industries.

At 10.15 am, the BSE Sensex sank 140 points to 59,105, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 17,625, down 40 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Airtel was the lead gainer, up 1.35 per cent. The other gainers were Power Grid, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Maruti, and Sun Pharma. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra was the prime loser, down 1.29 per cent. The other laggards were Nestle, Bajaj twins, Asian Paints, Wipro, Kotak Bank.

The overall sentiment of the 30-share Sensex platform was in negative as 24 scrips were declining, while the rest six were advancing.

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

Among stocks, Paytm gained 1.5 per cent. The company said its number of loans disbursed were up 246 per cent year-on-year to 60 lakh. On the other hand, DreamFolks Services listed at a 55 per cent premium at Rs 505 on the BSE. The issue price was fixed at Rs 326. The stock zoomed to Rs 550 before coming off highs.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE benchmark jumped 442 points (0.75 per cent) to settle at 59,245, the Nifty advanced 126 points (0.72 per cent) to 17,665.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading in the green, while Hong Kong quoted lower in mid-session deals. The US markets were closed on Monday.

"The resilience of the domestic market even in the context of strong global headwinds is a bit surprising. Clearly, India is outperforming the rest of the world," said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.77 per cent to $95 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 811.75 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.