The benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, which slipped at the open on Wednesday, dropped lower in the morning session.
At 10:15 am, the Sensex was at 50,148, down 45 points or 0.09 per cent. Nifty was flat at 15,113.
The top gainers on the 30-share index were Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, SBI, Power Grid and UltraTech Cement. The laggards were M&M, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Financial Services, ONGC and HDFC Bank.
According to an agency report, Sensex dropped over 150 points in opening trade tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank amid a negative trend in global markets. The market, however, turned flat in the first half hour of trading.
In the previous session, the Sensex soared 612.60 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 50,193.33, and the Nifty quoted higher by 184.95 points or 1.24 points at 15,108.10.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, purchasing shares worth ₹618.49 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.
The report quoting Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities, said concerns from rising inflationary pressure globally and increasing apprehension among investors about the Federal Reserve’s soft monetary stance due to sharp rise in CPI inflation may weigh on sentiments.
US equities contracted for the second consecutive day as mounting inflationary concerns and weak housing data weighed on investors’ sentiments, he noted.
Modi further said that investors will continue to focus on the trajectory of daily caseload and vaccination ramp up in the country in the near term.
“India has been reporting less than three lakh daily caseloads for the last three days. This will continue to embolden investors.
“It indicates that the earlier assumption of daily caseloads in the second wave peaking out by the end of May or mid of June holds true and adverse impact of the second wave should not be felt beyond 1QFY22. This has already aided markets witnessing sharp uptick in the last two trading days,” he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals. Equities on Wall Street ended with losses in overnight trade.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.15 per cent lower at $67.92 per barrel. (with inputs from PTI)
The benchmark indices were down a shade in early session on Wednesday. Sensex slipped 80 points or 0.16 per cent to 50,113. Nifty edged down 15 points or 0.10 per cent to 15,092.