Indian equity benchmarks broke their two-day winning streak on Wednesday, led by losses in banking and financial services stocks such as Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. For most part of the day, Sensex and Nifty traded in a narrow range, but late selling pressure in the gauge of banking stocks wiped out entire intraday gains, analysts said. The Sensex fell as much as 474 points from the day’s high and the Nifty 50 index touched a low of 18,201 after touching a high of 18,342.
The Sensex closed 207 points lower at 61,143 and the Nifty 50 index fell 57 points to 18,211.
“The market witnessed a minor correction after the Nifty 50 Index failed to maintain the higher highs above 18,300. Our research suggests that 18,200 would be an important support level for the market. If able to sustain, we can see a positive momentum in the market leading to higher levels near 18,600,” said Vijay Dhanotia, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research.
Eight of the 15 sectors compiled by the National Stock Exchange closed lower, with the Nifty Media index falling 2.4 per cent. Nifty Metal, Private Bank, Bank and Financial Services indices also fell between 1-1.6 per cent.
On the other hand, buying interest was witnessed in PSU Bank, Information Technology, Healthcare and Pharma stocks.
Mid- and small-cap stocks remained flat with minor changes in the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices.
Axis Bank was the top Nifty topper, with the stock falling 6.5 per cent to close at Rs 787.35 after reporting September quarter earnings. Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Tata Motors, Hindalco, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, JSW Steel, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank also fell between 1.4-5 per cent.
On the flipside, Asian Paints, UPL, Divi’s Labs, SBI Life, Cipla, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
Overall market breadth was positive as 1,780 shares closed higher while 1,466 shares closed lower on the BSE.
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