After a blazing seven-day surge, the Indian stock market encountered a stumbling block on Wednesday as investors punched the brakes amid global uncertainty. The Sensex fell more than 700 points, while the Nifty closed below 23,500, weighed down by losses in banking, IT, and pharmaceutical industries.
“The market experienced profit booking after the recent gains, on the back of next week’s US tariff announcements. The sectors with higher exposure to the US market, like pharma & IT, have witnessed some selling pressure. Oil prices inched higher driven by US sanctions on Iran and anticipation of a drop in US crude inventories. With the onset of FIIs inflow, revival in domestic fundamentals and favourable valuation, the market is expected to trade with more stability,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
Sensex and Nifty ends in red
The benchmark indices closed substantially lower, signaling a significant reversal in their winning streak. The Sensex closed down 789 points, or 1.01%, at 77,228.28, while the Nifty 50 down 182 points, or 0.77%, to 23,486.85.
Top gainers and losers
While most sectors faced the heat, a few stocks managed to stay afloat:
The top gainers in today’ trading session include Trent up by 3%, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Eicher Motors and BEL. On the other hand the laggards are NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Cipla, Bajaj Finance
A mix of global and domestic concerns sparked today’s sell-off, including US Tariff Jitters, in which investors remain concerned about prospective US trade policy, particularly tariffs that could affect Indian exports.
Furthermore, heavyweight industries such as banking, finance, and IT had strong falls, dragging the broader markets down.
Source: FE