Sensex falls over 500 points, Nifty below 15,700
Benchmark indices started the trade on a weak note on Wednesday with the Sensex falling 564.77 points, following feeble global market trends and persistent foreign capital outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 564.77 points lower at 52,612.68. The NSE Nifty dipped 162.4 points to 15,687.80.
Among the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards in early trade. Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel were the only gainers.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong were trading lower in mid-session deals. The US markets also ended lower on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.95 per cent to USD 116.86 per barrel.
"The sharp pullback witnessed in the US last Friday has lost steam and the markets have again turned weak. The decline in commodity prices last week has not sustained and Brent crude is back to above USD 117," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Even though there is no consensus on whether the US economy will slip into recession or not, there are clear signs of the economy slowing down, he added.
"In this context of conflicting signals, markets are likely to remain choppy," Vijayakumar said.
Posting gains for a fourth session in a row on Tuesday, the Sensex settled up 16.17 points or 0.03 per cent at 53,177.45. The NSE Nifty gained 18.15 points or 0.11 per cent to 15,850.20.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,244.44 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.
