Nifty Falls Most In 10 Months As Profit-Booking Halts Record Run: Market Wrap
The Nifty 50 ended 302.95 points, or 1.41% lower at 21,150.15, while the Sensex ended 930.88 points, or 1.3% lower at 70,506.31.
Indian stock benchmark Nifty 50 dropped the most in 10 months to retreat from all-time highs as investors booked profits, halting its record-setting burst.
The Nifty 50 ended 302.95 points, or 1.41% lower at 21,150.15, while the Sensex ended 930.88 points, or 1.3% lower--the most since Oct. 26--at 70,506.31. Intraday, the Nifty hit a low of 21,087.35 and the Sensex fell to 70,302.60. The declines were broad-based, with all sectoral indices ending lower.
Indian stocks' record run was fuelled by state election results and the U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut pivot signal. The exuberance had prompted analysts to predict a pullback. Fresh Covid fears, after India reported 21 cases of the new coronavirus variant JN.1 from across the country, contributed to the negative sentiment on Wednesday.
"The domestic market saw a sharp and abrupt sell-off in the second half, despite the positive trend in global peers," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services Ltd. "This is attributable to profit booking from the recent sharp rally stretching valuations of mid- and small-cap stocks. The recent uptick in crude prices prompted investors to book profits."
As long as the indices are trading below 21,225 and 70,800, the weak sentiment is likely to continue, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd. "Below the same level, the market could retest the level of 21000-20930/70300-70000."
Only three stocks in the Nifty 50 ended higher. Britannia Industries Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. were positively contributing to changes in the Nifty.
Cipla Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and State Bank of India were negatively contributing to the changes.
All sectoral indices fell, with Nifty Media and Nifty Metal falling the most. Nifty FMCG fell the least.
The broader indices underperformed the benchmark indices; the S&P BSE MidCap fell 3.12%, and the BSE SmallCap declined 3.42%.
All 20 sectors compiled by the BSE declined. BSE Telecommunication and IT fell the most.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. Around 3,175 stocks declined, 661 stocks rose, and 85 remained unchanged on the BSE.
