Mumbai
The benchmark Sensex dropped by 318 points on Wednesday, marking a second consecutive day of losses driven by selling in IT and auto stocks. The decline was further fueled by ongoing foreign fund outflows and weak trends in global markets.
The BSE Sensex fell by 318.76 points, or 0.39%, to close at 81,501.36. During the trading session, it saw a drop of 461.86 points, reaching as low as 81,358.26. The NSE Nifty also slipped, decreasing by 86.05 points, or 0.34%, to settle at 24,971.30.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, major laggards included Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, ITC, and Titan. Conversely, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, and State Bank of India managed to gain.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, noted that the market was trading within a narrow range but carried a negative bias due to concerns over potential downgrades in FY25 earnings, which could affect the sustainability of current valuations.
Global oil prices saw a modest increase, with Brent crude rising by 0.08% to $74.32 per barrel. On Tuesday, the Sensex had fallen by 152.93 points, or 0.19%, to finish at 81,820.12, while the Nifty closed down by 70.60 points, or 0.28%, at 25,057.35.
