Benchmark equity indices traded sharply lower in the afternoon session on Wednesday after a flat start, snapping a brief pause in the previous session. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia and continued foreign fund outflows, triggering broad-based selling across frontline counters.
At 12.50 pm, the Sensex was down 961.56 points or 1.23 per cent at 77,244.42, while the Nifty 50 fell 264.75 points or 1.09 per cent to trade at 23,996.85.
During the session, the Sensex tumbled as much as 1,164 points and the Nifty declined 329 points, reflecting sustained pressure on heavyweight stocks.
Bank Nifty also remained under stress, slipping more than 1.5 per cent.
Broader markets showed a mixed trend. The midcap index traded in negative territory, whereas the smallcap index managed to post mild gains, indicating selective buying interest away from large-cap stocks.
Sectoral performance remained mixed with auto and banking stocks witnessing the sharpest declines. In contrast, pharma and healthcare stocks attracted buying interest. Indices representing oil and gas, metals, media, consumer durables and information technology displayed relative resilience.
Nifty 50 movers
Among Nifty 50 constituents, gains were led by Jio Financial Services, , Wipro, NTPC and Tech Mahindra. On the losing side, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto were among the major laggards.
Market breadth positive
However, market breadth remained positive with 3,173 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange, of which 1,730 advanced and 1,343 declined, while 100 stocks remained unchanged. A total of 29 stocks touched their 52-week highs, whereas 76 stocks hit their 52-week lows. 68 stocks locked in the upper circuit, while 37 stocks were trapped in the lower circuit.
Midcap and smallcap movers
In the midcap segment, Adani Total Gas, Premier Energies, Blue Star, National Aluminium Company and Astral rallied between 3 per cent and 16 per cent. However, Colgate-Palmolive India, KEI Industries, Polycab India and Vishal Mega Mart declined 3–6 per cent.
Smallcap counters saw strong stock-specific action as Jindal SAW, Aster DM Healthcare, Neuland Laboratories, Cyient, NCC and Welspun Corp advanced 5–15 per cent. Meanwhile, Redington, Signature Global, Aegis Logistics, Navin Fluorine International and Jupiter Wagons fell 2–4 per cent.
Gas, pipes, EPC and pump stocks
In addition, gas-related stocks drew attention today as investors amid supply worries. Shares of companies in the city gas distribution and energy supply space such as ATGL, Mahanagar Gas, GAIL, Gujarat Gas, witnessed buying interest.
also outperformed many broader market segments.