Concerns of escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war and the continued rout in Adani Group shares are weighing on the Sensex and Nifty, which fell by 1.53 per cent each on Wednesday. While the Sensex fell 927 points to close at 59,744, the Nifty declined 272 points to 17,554.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers in the cash segment for ₹579 crore. The Adani Group’s total market cap fell below the $100-billion mark for the first time since Hindenburg Research published its report. Most of the Group’s listed companies were locked in the lower circuit during the day. Adani Enterprises crashed 10.43 per cent to ₹1,404.85. ACC was down 3.97 per cent at ₹1,755 and Ambuja Cement fell 4.92 per cent. Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green Energy, Adani Wilmar were all locked in the 5 per cent lower circuit. NDTV fell 4.13 per cent to ₹202.

Global markets, too, remained under pressure after both the US and Russia promoted escalation in the Ukraine war. After US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv, Russia has warned that it was ready to resume nuclear weapons’ testing. This caused a sharp sell off in US markets to the tune of over 2 per cent on Tuesday. The European markets, too, were down between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

Further downside

Analysts say markets look weak and are poised for a further downside. “Nifty has formed a long bearish candle on daily charts and lower top formation on intra-day charts, which indicate further weakness from the current levels. However, since the market is in an oversold zone, we could see some pullback rally, if the index trades above 17,600. For the traders, 17,600 would be the key level to watch out for and above the same, the pullback move will continue till 17,700-17,750. On the flip side, below 17,600, the index could slip till 17,500-17,475. Contra traders can take a long vet near 17,475 with a strict support loss at 17,440,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

“By closing below 17,604, Nifty has made a fresh lower bottom on the daily line chart, which indicates the continuation of a bearish trend. Support for the Nifty is seen at 17,353, which happens to be the Budget-day low. Previous support of 17,719 is expected to act as a resistance going forward,” said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

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