Sensex falls 252 points, Nifty slips to 22,622, as rising crude, FII selling weigh on markets

The stock markets closed in the red on Wednesday as investors booked profits following the previous session's sharp rebound, while rising crude oil prices amid geopolitical supply concerns and sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) selling weighed on market sentiment.

The stock markets closed in the red on Wednesday as investors booked profits following the previous session's sharp rebound, while rising crude oil prices amid geopolitical supply concerns and sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) selling weighed on market sentiment. The Nifty 50 index closed at 22,622.70, declining 99.25 points or 0.44 per cent, while the BSE Sensex settled at 72,781.89, down 251.89 points or 0.34 per cent.

Vikram Kasat, Chief Business Officer – Advisory and Dealing at PL Capital, said Indian equities were witnessing profit booking after Tuesday's sharp rebound. "Rising crude prices amid geopolitical supply concerns and sustained FII selling are weighing on sentiment, raising concerns over imported inflation, rupee stability and corporate margins," he said.

He added that earnings visibility, crude oil price movements and foreign fund flows would determine the direction of the markets going forward. He advised investors to prioritise fundamentally strong companies, maintain discipline and avoid chasing short-term rebounds. Sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a mixed trend. Nifty Pharma declined 1.47 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto, which fell 0.94 per cent. Nifty Realty lost 0.87 per cent, while Nifty Metal declined 0.67 per cent and Nifty Private Bank fell 0.34 per cent. On the gaining side, Nifty IT advanced 1.25 per cent, while Nifty FMCG rose 0.94 per cent. Nifty Media gained 0.59 per cent, and Nifty PSU Bank edged up 0.14 per cent.

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Nestle India, Infosys, Tata Consumer Products, Coal India, Tech Mahindra and TCS were among the top gainers. Shriram Finance, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy's, SBI Life and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major losers. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee recovered for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, touching about 94.8 against the US dollar and recovering close to 2 per cent since Friday, according to Rajeev Sharan, Head of Research at Brickwork Ratings.

"The RBI governor called the market's pessimism about India overdone and pointed to heavy speculation in currency derivatives, promising to do whatever it takes," Sharan said. He noted that the rupee's defence now depended on the Reserve Bank of India's credibility as well as its reserves. However, he cautioned that the currency's recovery would also depend on crude oil prices and foreign fund flows.

"With Brent near USD 106, the governor's credibility is now the real rate to watch," he said. Brent crude oil prices were up 0.30 per cent to USD 106 per barrel at the time of reporting, keeping concerns over imported inflation and corporate costs in focus.

In the commodities market, gold prices moderated by 0.42 per cent to Rs 1,47,825 per 10 grams for 24-karat gold. Silver prices also declined 0.90 per cent to Rs 2,17,227 per kg at the time of reporting. Asian markets largely ended lower on Wednesday. Taiwan's Weighted Index was the exception, gaining 0.59 per cent to close at 48,625. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.06 per cent to 67,735, while Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.13 per cent to close at 5,423. South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.44 per cent to 6,008, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.21 per cent to close at 24,294. (ANI)