Stock markets update: After reaching new all-time highs on Wednesday, the equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell sharply, dropping more than 1 per cent of their value as investors profited from the previous surge.
Erasing all its early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 930.88 points or 1.30 per cent to settle at 70,506.31. The index opened higher and later gained 475.88 points or 0.66 per cent to hit its all-time high of 71,913.07.
However, selling across the board dragged the barometer down from record highs and it dropped to a low of 70,302.60. The Nifty fell by 302.95 points or 1.41 per cent to 21,150.15. During the day, it climbed 139.9 points or 0.65 per cent to reach its record high of 21,593.
Check Sensex share
All the 30 Sensex shares, except for HDFC Bank, closed in the red. Tata Steel fell the most by 4.21 per cent. NTPC, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and JSW Steel also declined. HDFC Bank was the only gainer from the pack.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended in the green on Tuesday.
Rupee settles flat against dollar
The rupee ended flat at 83.18 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday amid massive selling in equity markets as concerns over oil supplies through the Red Sea route dented investor sentiment.
Forex traders said though the US dollar index below 102 level provided support, the Indian currency was weighed down by foreign fund outflow amid volatile crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.17 and traded between the peak of 83.13 and the lowest level of 83.18 against the dollar. It finally settled at its previous closing level of 83.18 (provisional) against the greenback.
(With PTI inputs)
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