Indian equity markets opened on a negative note on Wednesday, with the benchmark indices facing downward pressure due to a significant slump in Axis Bank's stock. The banking giant reported a contraction in margins, leading to concerns among investors and contributing to the overall bearish sentiment in the market.
The BSE Sensex fell 316.75 points to 70,053.80, reflecting a decline of 0.45% from the previous close. Simultaneously, the NSE Nifty declined 51.15 points, or 0.24%, to 21,187.65 in the early trade.
In the early trading session today, several constituents of the Sensex exhibited varied performances, reflecting a mixed trend in the
stock market
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IndusInd Bank, SBI, Tata Steel, and Infosys emerged as the leading gainers among the Sensex firms, each recording an uptick of up to 1.84%. Notably, HCL Tech, JSW Steel, and PowerGrid also demonstrated significant gains, contributing to the positive momentum in the market.
Conversely, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, TCS, and M&M faced losses of up to 3.79% in the morning deals, influencing the overall market sentiment. Maruti, Bharti Airtel, and Bajaj Finance joined the list of laggards, experiencing a decline in their respective share prices.
Among the 30 stocks constituting the benchmark Sensex, 21 were trading in the green, indicating a degree of resilience in the market despite the prevailing correction. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty index displayed gains in 32 of its constituents, further showcasing a mixed yet somewhat optimistic scenario.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted the correction in the broader market, attributing it to excessive and unsustainable valuations. He pointed out that the trigger for the correction primarily originated from sustained selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who divested equity worth Rs 27,830 crore over the last five days.
On Tuesday, the stock market took a sharp dive with sensex losing nearly 1,700 points from its early highs and closing 1,054 points down at 70,371, mainly due to profit booking after weeks of gain and on the back of negative global cues, mainly rising tensions in West Asia.
HDFC Bank, which last week saw a sharp sell-off after its Oct-Dec results that disappointed analysts and investors, again led the slide on Day 1 of a truncated three-day trading week and closed 3.5% lower. The day left investors poorer by Rs 8.5 lakh crore as BSE’s market capitalisation plunged to Rs 372.5 lakh crore from Rs 381 lakh crore.
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