The decline in the domestic equity market continued on Wednesday, with benchmark indices closing in the red for the third trading session of the week. The market recorded weakness for the seventh consecutive day.
Amid weak domestic and global cues, the BSE Sensex fell 325.78 points, or 0.42%, to close at 76,909.68. The NSE Nifty 50 declined 76.60 points, or 0.32%, to end at 24,078.30.
Selling was broad-based across the market. Among Sensex constituents, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), ITC and Reliance Industries were among the stocks under pressure, while buying in some IT and select large-cap stocks limited the decline.
The market opened lower on Wednesday and remained subdued throughout the trading session. The benchmark indices did not recover during the session and ended at 76,909.68 for the Sensex and 24,078.30 for the Nifty 50.
Of the 50 Nifty 50 constituents, 34 stocks closed lower, while 16 advanced. Most of the 30 Sensex constituents also ended in the red.
Power Grid recorded the largest decline among Sensex constituents, with its shares falling 2%. Bajaj Finance declined 1.31%, L&T fell 1.27% and ITC dropped 1.18%.
Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries and Bharat Electronics were also among the major stocks under pressure.
HCL Technologies was among the better-performing Sensex constituents, gaining around 1.73%. Buying was also recorded in several other IT stocks, although the broader market remained lower.
Eternal gained 1.33%, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.23% and Sun Pharma advanced 1.15%. Titan increased 0.27%, TCS gained 0.26%, Infosys rose 0.18% and Trent also recorded a marginal gain. Bajaj Finserv closed unchanged.
Reliance Industries declined 0.90%, IndiGo fell 0.77%, State Bank of India (SBI) dropped 0.73%, Axis Bank declined 0.70% and NTPC fell 0.67%.
ICICI Bank declined 0.66%, Tata Steel fell 0.65%, Tech Mahindra dropped 0.65%, Bharti Airtel declined 0.52%, Asian Paints fell 0.42% and HDFC Bank declined 0.42%.
UltraTech Cement fell 0.30%, Maruti Suzuki declined 0.23%, Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 0.11% and Adani Ports fell 0.06%.
