Stock Market: Sensex Loses 500 Points As Market Opens, Nifty Slips Below 20,000

On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Steel were some of the gainers. On the downside, HDFC Bank, Reliance, and Bharti Airtel emerged as some of the major losers.

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, opened trading with significant losses on Wednesday amid weak global trends ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. The BSE Sensex opened almost 500 points lower at 67,080.18, while the NSE Nifty50 opened below the 20,000 mark, losing over 150 points. 

At 9.46 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 67,160.53, down by over 400 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 index was trading at 20,004.90, down by more than 100 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, M&M, and Tata Steel were some of the early gainers. On the downside, HDFC Bank, Reliance, Bharti Airtel, and Maruti emerged as some of the major losers. Among individual stocks on the Nifty50, HDFC Bank’s shares dropped over 3 per cent marking it as one of the major laggards in the index in early trade hours. Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Power Grid, and ONGC turned out to be the biggest gainers among the Nifty50. 

In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap 250 emerged as the best performer with gains of 0.45 per cent, while Nifty Midcap50 and Nifty Smallcap50 indices registered increases of 0.28 per cent and 0.07 per cent respectively.

Sectorwise, Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank led the indices with gains of 0.59 per cent and 0.46 per cent respectively. Nifty Metal and Auto also registered gains, while the rest of the indices including Nifty Financial Services and Nifty FMCG were trading in losses by 0.83 and 0.56 per cent respectively.

Markets remained closed on Tuesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi. In the previous trade session on Monday, the indices spent the entire trading day recovering losses. After opening in red, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at a loss of 241 points and stood at  67,596.84. On the other hand, the Nifty50 settled almost 60 points lower at 20,133.30. 

The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 83.26 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday. Earlier on Monday, the domestic unit opened at 83.09 against the American dollar. It finally settled at 83.29 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 13 paise over the previous close. 

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell to $93.41 per barrel. "There are too many challenges for the market in the near-term. Brent crude at USD 94, the dollar index above 105, the US bond yield at 5.09 per cent and the INR at record lows against the dollar are strong headwinds", said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Based on the exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,236.51 crore on Monday.