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Equity benchmarks buckled under selling pressure for the second straight day on Wednesday, weighed by banking and finance counters, as global sentiment remained risk-averse amid spiking US bond yields and inflation concerns.
A depreciating rupee, which tumbled for the fourth session on the trot, also took a toll on investor confidence, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened weak and extended its losses, before staging a comeback in late-afternoon trade to close at 59,413.27, still down by 254.33 points or 0.43 per cent.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 37.30 points or 0.21 per cent to finish at 17,711.30.
HDFC was the top laggard on the Sensex chart, shedding 1.96 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, HUL, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra.
The HDFC duo and Reliance Industries accounted for most of the benchmark’s losses.
On the other hand, NTPC, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, SBI, Titan and Tata Steel were among the gainers, rallying as much as 6.52 per cent.
“Domestic market started on a very negative trend due to global sell-off on Tuesday and high crude prices. Spiking US treasury yields and slowing economy were impacting growth stocks.
“During the day, European and Asian markets recovered and crude prices stabilised. Indian growth-oriented sectors like energy, metals and pharma also recovered strongly but selling continued in other sectors like private sector banks and consumption,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
According to S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities, markets are wary of inflation on the back of supply side disruptions and higher commodity prices.
“As China pulls back on the back of power shortages, export opportunities are seen opening up for several Indian companies with the PLI schemes providing the catalyst… As the gap between growth and value stocks widen, we are witnessing sector rotation in several pockets,” he noted.
Sectorally, BSE finance, FMCG, bankex and capital goods shed up to 0.70 per cent, while utilities, power, metal and realty spurted as much as 3.87 per cent.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose up to 0.62 per cent.
Asian markets stayed on the backfoot following heavy losses on Wall Street in the overnight session due to rising bond yields and concerns over economic recovery. Bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ended in the red, while Hong Kong closed higher.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in the afternoon, propped up by technology shares.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.57 per cent to USD 77.90 per barrel.
The rupee fell by 8 paise to close at 74.14 against the US dollar amid a strengthening greenback overseas.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,957.70 crore, as per exchange data.
