Mumbai: Indian markets surrendered a gap-up opening on Wednesday and turned lower through the session, with selling spreading well beyond the headline indices. The advance-decline ratio on the Nifty stood at a lopsided 11:39.
At 1.22 pm, the Nifty 50 was at 22,724.55, down 164.40 points or 0.72% from its Monday close of 22,888.95, while the Sensex traded at 73,475.53, shedding 377.37 points or 0.51%.
Of 4,471 stocks traded on the BSE, 3,397 declined and only 873 advanced. As many as 322 BSE stocks touched fresh 52-week lows against 81 hitting new highs. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 1.7% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 2.4%, indicating the selling was broader and deeper than the headline moves suggested.
IT stocks were the lone bright spot. Infosys gained 2.68% to Rs 1,161, Tech Mahindra 2.66% to Rs 1,826.40, TCS 2.20% to Rs 2,515.10 and HCL Technologies 1.57% to Rs 1,401.50. UltraTech Cement bucked the trend with a 1.62% gain. Every other major sectoral index was in the red, with auto the worst performer.
Analysts say persistent selling by foreign institutional investors and rising US bond yields are the main pressures on the market. On the other side, buying by domestic institutional investors and selective purchases in some sectors could cushion the decline. Market direction will stay sensitive to second-quarter earnings and sectoral trends, they said.
On the losing side, Bajaj Finance fell 3.39%, Eternal 3.26%, Eicher Motors 3.05%, Trent 2.57% and Adani Enterprises 2.54%. Foreign investor selling, elevated crude oil prices and US bond yields remain headwinds, analysts said.