Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the third straight day on Wednesday to close at a nearly month’s low, dragged by a last-hour selloff in consumer durables, private banks and IT shares.
In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 275.01 points, or 0.32 per cent, to settle at 84,391.27, a level not seen since November 11. During the day, it hit an intraday high of 85,020.34 and a low of 84,313.62.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 81.65 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at a month's low of 25,758. In the intraday session, it hit a high of 25,947.65 and a low of 25,734.55.
Among the Sensex constituents, Eternal, Trent, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the laggards.
However, Tata Steel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ITC, NTPC, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, PowerGrid, and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
"Indian markets mirrored global caution, weighed down by persistent FII outflows, INR weakness, and uncertainty surrounding US-India trade negotiations despite ongoing discussions. In the near term, market direction will be influenced by central bank cues and clarity on trade developments," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, Japan's Nikkei 225, and South Korea's KOSPI settled lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished in the green territory.
Nair added that global equity markets experienced continued volatility due to rising Japanese bond yields and indications of Bank of Japan monetary tightening, which are fostering risk-off sentiments in emerging markets.
"Focus now shifts to the upcoming U.S. Fed meeting, where a 25 basis points rate cut is widely expected. However, internal divisions and mixed economic indicators may temper expectations for further rate cuts in 2026," he said.
European markets are broadly trading lower. Wall Street broadly ended lower in overnight deals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained the net sellers of equities worth Rs 3,760.08 crore on Tuesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,224.89 crore.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.03 per cent to USD 61.92 per barrel.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 436.41 points to close at a nearly two-week low of 84,666.28. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 120.90 points to settle at 25,839.65.
