Reliance Industries triggers selloff, Sensex down 200 points

The BSE Sensex slumped 200 points in the afternoon session on Wednesday, while the 50-share Nifty came close to breaching the 5,800 levels, seen as a major support for markets.

The Indian rupee traded in a small band, though it stayed below the psychological 60 mark for the sixth day in a row.

The trigger for the selloff was sharp cuts in the Reliance Industries, which slipped over 4 per cent and was the top Nifty loser. RIL has a large weightage on the benchmark indices and a slide in the stock weighs on the benchmark. RIL was the top Nifty loser, down 3.2 per cent.

In all, 35 stocks traded lower on the Nifty. Oil major Cairn India fell 3 per cent, while state-run refiner BPCL shed 2.8 per cent.

IndusInd Bank traded down 1.7 per cent despite posting in-line numbers for the June quarter, probably on account of profit taking.

Consumer durables and IT were the only sectors trading high on the BSE. Drug maker Lupin, private lender Kotak Mahindra and state-run NMDC were the top three gainers on the Nifty.

Indian stocks also tracked nervousness in global markets ahead of the Fed minutes due post-midnight.

The Sensex traded 167 points lower at 19,272 and the Nifty traded down 46 points at 5,813 as of 2.45 p.m.