The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday were trading lower tracking weakness in Asian cues amid volatility. The two indices, which opened flat, turned red in early trading hours. At 9.55 am, the BSE Sensex dropped 96 points to 65,383. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was trading at 19,378, down 11 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, HDFC twins, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Axis Bank were among the early losers. On the flipside, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Asian Paint, Maruti, L&T, and PowerGrid emerged gainers. Among stocks, Strides Pharma lost 5 per cent after its biologics arm Stelis Biopharma inked a pact to sell its the multi-modal facility at Bengaluru for Rs 702 crore to Syngene.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose up to 0.4 per cent.
Sectorwise, Nifty Financials and Realty indices declined 0.2-0.6 per cent, while others held tepid gains.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 274 points higher at 65,479, while the NSE Nifty50 closed 66 points up at 19,389.