Stock Market: Sensex Tanks 928 Points, Nifty Ends Around 17,550 On Weak Global Cues. All Sectors In The Red

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, except ITC, the rest 29 scrips ended in the red

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday plunged sharply on concerns over hawkish central bank action and geopolitical tensions between Russia and the US which spooked the investors. The Sensex slipped below the 60,000-mark, falling nearly 1,000 points and hit an intra-day low of 59,681.55, while the Nifty50, up the 17,550-mark intra-day.

The Sensex closed at 59,745, down 928 points (1.53 per cent). On the other hand, NSE Nifty50 ended at 17,554, down 272 points (1.53 per cent).

On the 30-share Sensex platform, except ITC, the rest 29 scrips ended in the red.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Grasim, JSW Steel, Bajaj twins, M&M, RIL, L&T, Wipro, SBI Life, Titan, Ultratech Cement, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, and HDFC Bank fell in the range of 1.5 per cent to 11 per cent. ITC, and Bajaj Auto were the only large-cap gainers, up 0.5 per cent, and 0.26 per cent, respectively.

The market capitalisation of Adani Group companies fell below Rs 8-lakh crore -mark in Wednesday's intra-day trade, down from Rs 25 lakh crore recorded before the release of the Hindenburg report.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices closing 1 per cent lower each.

India VIX jumped 12 per cent.

All the sectoral indices ended in the negative zone with the Nifty Metal index slipping over 2.5 per cent, the Nifty PSU Bank index 2 per cent, and the Nifty Realty index 1.7 per cent.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 60,673, down 19 points (0.03 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 ended at 17,827, down 18 points (0.1 per cent).

In Asian markets, South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong ended lower. Stock exchanges in Europe were quoting in the negative territory in afternoon trade. The US markets had ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

"Resurgence of cold war between US & Russia has brought apprehension in the market. Although it should be a short-term effect, the fear of sanctions against Russia and its degree of implication on the economy, especially on food and oil exports, is adding to the anxiety. The market is just recovering from the pandemic, and high interest & inflation are the headwinds in the background. It is presumed that this war will be fought on an economic front, limiting its effect on strong economies like the US & India. Awaiting the release of Fed and RBI minutes are the other major elements that kept investors on the side lines," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

International oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.11 per cent to $82.11 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 525.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 4 paise to 82.83 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a muted trend in domestic equities. However, fresh foreign fund inflows and a weak American currency against major rivals overseas capped the losses in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened flat at 82.79 against the dollar. Later, it lost some ground to quote at 82.83, registering a decline of 4 paise over its last close.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.79 against the dollar.