Sensex tanks 471 pts; Nifty drops below 14,700

Extending its losses to the second session, equity benchmark Sensex slumped 471 points on Wednesday, dragged by selling in index majors ICICI Bank, HUL, and Reliance Industries amid mixed cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE index ended 471.01 points or 0.96 percent lower at 48,690.80.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 154.25 points or 1.04 percent to 14,696.50.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 percent, followed by HUL, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, M&M, and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, Titan, Maruti, PowerGrid, SBI, and NTPC were among the gainers.

''Indian indices extended its losses due to concerns over hike in global interest rates and bond yield due to rising commodity prices and inflationary pressure,'' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

All major indices closed in the negative terrain including metals while PSU banks and media stocks managed to stay afloat. International commodity prices will have to stabilize to provide sustenance in the equity market, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended on a positive note, while Tokyo and Seoul were in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.50 percent higher at USD 68.88 per barrel.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)