Sensex and Nifty, two key equity benchmarks, on Tuesday closed in the red for a third straight day on Tuesday as investors anticipated aggressive rate hikes by central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to contain high inflation rates.
Besides, unabated foreign fund outflows also continued to weigh on the domestic equity markets.
India’s wholesale price index (WPI) inflation also jumped to 15.8 per cent in May, its highest level since 2012.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 153 points (0.29 per cent) to settle at 52,693. During the day, it tumbled 387 points (0.73 per cent) to 52,459. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty declined by 42 points (0.27 per cent) to end at 15,732.
On the BSE, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, and Asian Paints were the major losers. On the flipside, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, and M&M were among the gainers.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap index declined 0.23 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap index dropped 0.14 per cent.
IT, metals, and pharma stocks helped the headline indices recover from the day’s low. Overall, these indices ended higher in the range of 0.15 per cent to 0.9 per cent on NSE.
In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex plunged 1,776 points intra-day before closing at 52,847, down 1,457 points (2.68 per cent). The Nifty50, on the other hand, fell 427 points (2.64 per cent) to settle at 15,774. The index touched a low of 15,684 in intra-day trade.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul and Tokyo ended lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai bounced back and settled in the green. Markets in Europe were trading mostly lower in mid-session deals. Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower on Monday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.68 per cent to $123.1 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 4,164.01 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.