Benchmark indices were trading at over 1 per cent lower during the afternoon trade on Wednesday as selling pressure continued.

The market opened on a weak note, tracking negative global cues as rising treasury yields across the globe indicated interest rate hikes sooner than expected. Market slipped further in the first half. Indices were trading lower during the afternoon, witnessing selling pressure across multiple counters. Oil & gas and select auto stocks gained.

At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 60,009.45, down 745.41 points or 1.23 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 60,870.17 and a low of 59,954.77. The Nifty 50 slipped below the 18,000 mark. It was trading at 17,899.30, down 213.75 points or 1.18 per cent, near the day’s low of 17,884.90. It recorded an intraday high of 18,129.20. 

FII have yet agained turned sellers, further impacting investor sentiments. 

ONGC, Coal India, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and IOC were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Shree Cement and Grasim were the top losers.

The volatility index rose 3.16 per cent to 18.34.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said, “High volatility is in store for markets in the coming days. Globally, inflation is becoming a worse-than-expected threat and this is reflected in the sharp spike in US 10-year yield to a 2-year high of 1.89 per cent. The consequent correction in US markets has been sharp with Nasdaq falling by 2.6 per cent. The Russian troop build-up on the Ukraine border and the probability of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is emerging as a major geopolitical issue which can impact markets.”

“For India, the sharp spike in crude is posing major threats to inflation and fiscal and current account balances. On the positive side, the Q3 results indicate a smart pick up in earnings. While this strong fundamental can support the market, investors have to be cautious since at the present high valuations negative triggers can derail the rally,” Dr Vijayakumar added.

Oil & gas in focus

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Media and Nifty Auto were in the red.

Nifty Oil & Gas was up 0.28 per cent while Nifty Auto was up 0.09 per cent. Nifty Media was up 0.78 per cent.

Nifty IT recorded the highest losses and slipped over 2 per cent. Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services were down over 1.4 per cent each. Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Healthcare Index were down nearly 1 per cent each.

Broader indices

The broader market also faced pressure with indices trading in the red.

The Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.87 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.57 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 1 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 0.62 per cent.

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