Stock Market: Sensex Sinks For Fourth Day, Down 152 Points; Nifty Ends Below 15,700 Amid Volatility

Stock update: NTPC was the top laggard in the 30-share Sensex pack, declining 2.02 per cent, followed by Infosys, Reliance Industries, Wipro, HUL, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, and ITC on the BSE

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks on Wednesday, skidded for the fourth day in a row as the indices turned in to the negative territory in the fag-end of the trading session due to sell-off across the board.

The BSE Sensex settled at 52,541, down 152 points (0.29 per cent), while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 15,692, down 40 points (0.25 per cent).

On the 30-share BSE platform, NTPC was the top laggard in the 30-share Sensex pack, declining 2.02 per cent, followed by Infosys, Reliance Industries, Wipro, HUL, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, and ITC.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, Asian Paints, and M&M were among the gainers, climbing as much as 4.24 per cent.

Meanwhile, the broader markets outperformed the frontline indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices added around 0.5 per cent each. Sectorally, the Nifty Auto index gained the most and closed nearly a per cent higher, while the Nifty Metal fell 0.7 per cent.

Telecom stocks were largely flat, with the BSE Telecom index dipping 0.17 per cent, after the Union Cabinet approved the auction of 5G airwaves and gave its nod for setting up of captive 5G networks by big tech firms.

In the previous trading on Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 153 points (0.29 per cent) to settle at 52,693. During the day, it tumbled 387 points (0.73 per cent) to 52,459. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty declined by 42 points (0.27 per cent) to end at 15,732.

"Equity markets traded nervously ahead of the US Fed meet outcome. While strength was seen in morning, selling pressure in the second half dragged the indices lower. All eyes would be on the US Fed meet outcome," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Globally, investors were awaiting the US Fed's policy decision later in the day amid expectations of an aggressive rate hike to tame red-hot inflation.

“The aggressive rate hike of 50-75 bps is mostly factored by the market but updated economic and interest rate forecasts to be detailed by the central bank will closely control the future trend," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul and Tokyo ended lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the green.

Bourses in Europe were trading higher in the afternoon session after the European Central Bank announced an emergency meet on the recent bond market turmoil following its rate hikes. Stock exchanges in the US ended on a mixed note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1 per cent to $120 per barrel.

The rupee plunged 13 paise to close at a fresh all-time low of 78.17 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 4,502.25 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.