Sensex Falls 535 Points as Weak Global Cues, Valuation Concerns Spook Investors

Mumbai: Indian stock markets experienced a second consecutive day of decline on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex closing down 535 points, primarily attributed to selling pressures in HDFC Bank and IT shares amid weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 535.88 points, or 0.75%, settling at 71,356.60. Throughout the day, it witnessed a decline of 588.51 points, or 0.81%, reaching 71,303.97. The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also saw a dip of 148.45 points, or 0.69%, closing at 21,517.35.

Major laggards among the Sensex firms included JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, and Maruti. On the positive side, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel, and State Bank of India emerged as winners.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai closed in the green. European markets were trading lower, and the US markets closed mostly down on Tuesday.

Market sentiment was influenced by a lack of fresh triggers, concerns over valuation, and weak global indicators, including contraction in China and Euro zone manufacturing data. Investors were particularly awaiting insights on interest rates from the FED minutes.

India’s manufacturing sector witnessed a decline to an 18-month low in December, with softer growth in factory orders and output, despite minimal inflation, according to the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI survey. The PMI fell from 56 in November to 54.9 in December.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined by 0.55% to USD 75.47 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,602.16 crore on Tuesday.