Bears retain hold on markets for 3rd day

Rupee depreciates by 22 paise to close at a record low of 79.81 against dollar

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty reversed their early gains to close lower on Wednesday due to selling in oil & gas, banking and IT stocks amid weak trends in European markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 372.46 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 53,514.15, extending its falling streak to a third day.

The index opened higher and touched the day’s high of 54,211.22 amid gains in Asian markets. However, it failed to hold onto its gains and dropped over 750 points to touch a low of 53,455.26 as European markets opened lower.

The broader NSE

Nifty declined 91.65 points or 0.57 per cent to settle below the 16,000 level at 15,966.65.

In the three sessions to Wednesday, Sensex dropped by 967 points or 1.7 per cent while Nifty fell by 254 points.

Among the Sensex constituents, IndusInd Bank fell the most by 3.42 per cent. Bharti Airtel fell 2.87 per cent, HDFC by 2.65 per cent, HDFC Bank by 2.44 per cent and Reliance Industries 1.77 per cent. TCS declined by 1.49 per cent while HCL Technologies fell 1.11 per cent. Titan, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and Wipro also dropped.

Analysts said gains in FMCG and pharma shares helped cut losses in the indices.

Hindustan Unilever rose by 1.97 per cent, Asian Paints by 1.7 per cent, and Sun Pharma by 1.09 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Nestle also advanced.

Meanwhile, the broader markets outperformed the benchmark and ended on a flat note. The BSE midcap gauge advanced 0.32 per cent and smallcap index ended up by 0.04 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, utilities fell 1.71 per cent, power by 1.71 per cent, oil & gas by 1.43 per cent, energy by 1.26 per cent, finance by 0.91 per cent and teck by 0.65 per cent.

FMCG, basic materials, healthcare, metal and realty were the gainers.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1 per cent to $100.5 per barrel.

The rupee depreciated by 22 paise to close at a record low of 79.81 against the US currency on Wednesday following a firm dollar in overseas markets and losses in the domestic stock markets.