Markets pare early gains; Sensex extends losses in choppy trade

The Sensex and Nifty nursed losses for a second straight session on Wednesday, pressured by steep declines in information technology (IT), fast-moving consumer goods, and pharmaceutical counters amid mixed trends overseas.

High crude oil prices, lacklustre macroeconomic data, and foreign fund outflows also played spoilsport. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 185.24 points, or 0.33 per cent, to settle at 55,381.17 in a see-saw session.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 61.8 points, or 0.37 per cent, to finish at 16,522.75.

Nestlé India was the top loser among Sensex components, skidding 2.99 per cent. In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra topped the leaderboard, climbing 1.32 per cent.

HDFC rose 0.94 per cent after the mortgage lender announced a 5-basis points increase in its benchmark lending rate. The market breadth was negative, with 20 of the 30 Sensex stocks closing in the red.

In the broader market, the BSE

Smallcap gauge rose 0.62 per cent, while the Midcap index declined marginally by 0.1 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, power tumbled 1.7 per cent, followed by utilities (1.51 per cent), teck (1.18 per cent), health care (1.16 per cent), realty (1.15 per cent), and IT (1.04 per cent).

However, capital goods jumped 0.75 per cent, industrials 0.7 per cent, banks 0.44 per cent, and finance 0.25 per cent.

World stocks were mixed as investors remained anxious about stubborn inflation and expected rate hikes.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo settled in the green. Bourses in Europe were trading on a mixed note during afternoon trade.

Stock markets in the US had ended lower on Tuesday. International oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.49 per cent to $117.27 per barrel.

The rupee on Wednesday recovered from its record low to close 20 paise higher at 77.51 (provisional) against the greenback.

Resuming their selling spree after a one-day breather, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net ~1,003.56 crore on Tuesday.