Nifty PSU Bank, Media and Auto indexes were trading higher.
The Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Wednesday weighed down by weakness in banking and information technology shares. The Sensex fell as much as 394points to hit intraday low of 51,710 and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 15,250. HDFC, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Nestle India, Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the top drags on the Sensex.
As of 9:35 am, Sensex was down 324 points at 51,780 and Nifty 50 index declined 83 points to 15,230.
Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty IT index’s over 1 per cent decline. Nifty Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, Metal and Private Bank indexes also declined between 0.4-0.7 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank, Media and Auto indexes were trading higher.
Mid- and small-cap stocks were trading flat as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.14 per cent and Nifty Smalllcap 100 index was unchanged.
Nestle India was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 4.5 per cent to Rs 16,433 after its earnings missed estimates in quarter ended December 2020. Nestle reported net profit of Rs 483 crore compared with Rs 472 crore during the same quarter last year.
TCS, HDFC, Wipro, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Divi’s Labs, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel also fell between 1-2 per cent.
On the flipside, Adani Ports rose over 3 per cent after it acquired Dighi Pots and earmarked Rs 10,000 crore for entry into Maharashtra. Hero MotoCorp, GAIL India, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Life, BPCL and NTPC were also among the gainers.
