After three days of an upward trajectory, Indian markets witnessed a corrective session on Wednesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declining amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks and ongoing shipping disruptions, keeping investors cautious. While the BSE Sensex witnessed a sharp bearish session, closing at 78,516, down by 756.84 points or 0.95 per cent, the Nifty 50 slipped nearly 200 points to end the session at 24,378.10. During the day, Sensex hit a high of 79,031.03 and a low of 78,442.30. The decline was largely driven by IT stocks, which emerged as major laggards following weak earnings, with heavyweights dragging the index lower.
Among the 30-Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Eternal, UltraTech Cement and Trent were the major winners. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.
However, midcap and smallcap stocks saw slight strength. The Nifty Midcap index gained 0.2 per cent, while the Smallcap index added more than 1 per cent.
Broader markets showed resilience
“The key highlight of the session was strong profit booking after the recent rally, along with continued FII outflows and cautious global sentiment linked to US-Iran developments. Despite the sharp fall in frontline indices, broader markets showed relatively better resilience, indicating selective buying interest,” said Aakash Shah, Research Analyst, Choice Equity Broking Private Limited.
Crude oil prices surge
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.29 per cent higher at USD 99.75 per barrel in futures trade. Analysts said the crude prices climbed after two ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, complicating efforts to end the war.
Earlier on Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 753.03 points or 0.96 per cent to settle at 79,273.33. The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 211.75 points or 0.87 per cent to end at 24,576.60.
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(This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, financial, or other advice.)
