Sensex Snaps 4-Day Winning Run, Slips 150 Points In Volatile Trade, Nifty Settles Below 15,800
Indian equity benchmarks on Wednesday snapped their four-session gaining streak and finished lower in volatile trade amid weak cues from the global cues. Asian stocks declined today, tracking a poor Wall Street session overnight as the U.S. consumer confidence data dampened investor optimism and fueled worries over a recession.
Brent crude futures climbing above the $118 per barrel mark also dampened investors' sentiment.
However, the domestic indices recovered partially from early lows, boosted by gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani has resigned from the Board of Reliance Jio Infocomm and handed over the reins of RIL's telecom arm to his elder son Akash.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 150 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 53,027 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 51 points or 0.32 per cent lower to settle at 15,799.
Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 dropped 0.44 per cent and small-cap tumbled 0.56 per cent.
11 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG underperformed the NSE platform by falling 1.29 per cent and 1.27 per cent, respectively.
However, Nifty Oil & Gas showed strength and climbed 1.02 per cent.
On the stock-specific front, HDFC Life was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 4.67 per cent to Rs 539.50. Hindustan Unilever, Apollo Hospitals, Axis Bank and Tata Consumer Products were also among the laggards.
The overall market breadth stood negative as 1,518 shares advanced while 1,784 declined on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE index, HUL, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, HCL Tech, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, SBI, Infosys and ICICI Bank were among the top losers.
In contrast, NTPC, Reliance, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, ITC, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, Tata Steel and Maruti finished in the green.
Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, rose 2.34 per cent to close at Rs 678.90.
