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Equity benchmarks extended their losing streak to the fifth straight session on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 494.03 points to 78,181.15 and the Nifty declining 180.75 points to 23,702.70 by mid-day trading. The market sentiment remained bearish following higher-than-expected domestic inflation data and weak global cues.
The broader market witnessed stronger selling pressure, with the Nifty Midcap Select index dropping 1.51 per cent to 12,146.65. Market breadth was significantly negative, with 3,162 stocks declining against 701 advances on the BSE. Circuit filters were triggered for 634 stocks, with 440 hitting the lower circuit and 194 touching the upper circuit limits.
Metal and auto stocks led the decline, with Hindalco emerging as the top Nifty loser, falling 3.67 per cent. Other major losers included Eicher Motors (-3.33 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (-3.22 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (-3.05 per cent), and Tata Steel (-2.95 per cent).
NTPC provided some support to the markets, gaining 1.31 per cent, followed by Trent (0.54 per cent), Britannia (0.47 per cent), Tata Motors (0.39 per cent), and ITC (0.32 per cent).
The banking sector also faced selling pressure, with the Bank Nifty declining 0.88 per cent to 50,706.15. The Nifty Financial Services index dropped 0.72 per cent to 23,393.90.
Despite the overall negative trend, 141 stocks reached their 52-week highs, while 136 touched their 52-week lows, indicating some pockets of strength in the market.
The market downturn follows India’s retail inflation hitting a 14-month high of 6.2 per cent in October, exceeding the RBI’s comfort zone. Foreign investors’ selling of over ₹3,000 crore in equities added to the pressure, although domestic investors provided some support with purchases worth ₹1,854 crore.
Trading remains cautious ahead of US inflation data, with gold prices at a two-month low of $2,607 per ounce and Brent crude trading at $72.09 per barrel. The Nifty Next 50 index showed a steeper decline of 1.32 per cent, settling at 67,547.30 points during mid-day trading.
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