The markets opened flat reflecting global market trends. The Sensex was down 244.24 points or 0.46 percent down at 52,334.52. It closed at 52,578.76 points yesterday.
The Nifty50 was down at 15,675.55, down 70.90 points or 0.45 percent. It was down 78 points or 0.49 per cent to 15,746.45 on Tuesday.
Nestle India was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy’s, HDFC twins, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, TCS, Reliance Industries and Infosys.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and HUL were among the gainers.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,459.08 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.
According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, there is a mild risk-off sentiment in equity markets globally as reflected in the rising dollar.
"The selloff in Chinese tech stocks on Beijing''s regulatory crackdown has triggered concerns about whether this selloff will spread to other segments. China is too big now. It can cause flutters in global markets," he said to PTI.
A significant trend in the market now is sectoral shifts, he noted, adding that there has been across the board selling in pharma stocks in the previous session. "Profits booked in this segment are moving into other sectors. The relative outperformance in frontline financials indicates a sectoral shift.
Asian shares trade low
Shares in Asia-Pacific were lower in Wednesday morning trade at 7 month lows, as a rout in China spurs caution and U.S. megacap technology earnings receive a mixed response. Traders were reluctant to place large bets ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting.
Fuel prices unchanged
Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the eleventh consecutive day across the four metros on Wednesday. With no change in prices on Wednesday, petrol continues to be sold in the national capital for Rs 101.84 per litre, while diesel is also being sold at the unchanged price of Rs 89.87 a litre.
In Mumbai, where petrol prices crossed Rs 100-mark for the first time ever on May 29, the fuel price is at Rs 107.83 per litre. Diesel price in the city is also at Rs 97.45, the highest among metros.
In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs 102.49 per litre while the price of diesel is Rs 94.39 per litre. The price of petrol in Kolkata is Rs 102.08 per litre while diesel is sold at Rs 93.02 per litre.
International oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.54 per cent to USD 73.92 per barrel.
Brent Futures' first decline in 6 days
Brent futures slipped 2 cents to settle at $74.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 26 cents, or 0.4 percent to settle at $71.65. That was the first decline for Brent in six days.
Quarterly results
Following companies will release their quarterly results today: Maruti Suzuki India, Nestle India, ABB India, Astec Lifesciences, Birasoft, Central Bank of India, Century Textiles & Industries, Coforge, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Gateway Distriparks, Geojit Financial Services, Greenpanel Industries, Grindwell Norton, Happiest Minds Technologies, Heritage Foods, HSIL, ICRA< IDBI Bank, Intellect Design Arena, JM Financial, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Mahanagar Gas, Mold-Tek Packaging, Pfizer, Radico Khaitan, Ramco Systems, Route Mobile, RPG Life Sciences, Sagar Cements, SRF, Tata Coffee, TCI Express, TeamLease Services, United Breweries, UTI Asset Management Company and Welspun India
