Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended marginally lower on Wednesday after a volatile trading session, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid mixed geopolitical developments in West Asia and continued foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 141.90 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 75,867.80. Despite the decline, 20 of the index constituents managed to end in positive territory, while 10 stocks closed lower. During intraday trade, the benchmark touched a high of 76,224.68 and a low of 75,748.21, swinging nearly 476 points amid fluctuating investor sentiment. The broader NSE Nifty slipped by 6.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 23,907.15.
Among the Sensex stocks, major losers included HDFC Bank, Infosys, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. On the other hand, gains were led by Power Grid Corporation of India, Eternal, NTPC and Tata Steel.
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In the commodities market, Brent Crude prices declined 3.24 per cent to USD 96.35 per barrel, providing some relief to investors concerned about rising energy costs and inflationary pressures. According to Ponmudi R, CEO of wealth-tech and trading platform Enrich Money, Indian markets remained subdued as investors adopted a cautious “wait-and-watch” stance due to conflicting signals emerging from the Middle East.
“While indications of continued diplomatic engagement between the US and Iran helped stabilise sentiment and limit aggressive selling pressure, the absence of any concrete breakthrough kept risk appetite restrained,” he said.
Asian markets delivered a mixed performance, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ending higher, while China’s Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed lower. European markets were trading in positive territory during the session, while US markets had mostly ended higher on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to remain net sellers in the domestic market. According to exchange data, FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 2,407.87 crore on Tuesday, adding to pressure on benchmark indices.
In the previous trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex had dropped 479.26 points, or 0.63 per cent, to settle at 76,009.70, while the Nifty declined 118 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 23,913.70.
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