HDFC & IT Shares, Along With Weak Global Trends, Drive Sensex Down 535 Points

On Wednesday, stock markets fell for the second day in a row, with benchmark Sensex falling 535 points owing to selling in HDFC Bank and IT equities amid weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 535.88 points or 0.75 percent to 71,356.60. It sank 588.51 points or 0.81 percent to 71,303.97 during the day.

The National Stock Exchange slid 148.45 points or 0.69 percent to 21,517.35.

JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, and Maruti were the top laggards on the Sensex.

Among the winners were IndusInd Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel, and State Bank of India.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong finished lower while Shanghai finished higher.

European stocks were falling.

On Tuesday, the US markets finished mainly lower.

Despite low inflation, India’s manufacturing sector growth slowed to an 18-month low in December, according to a monthly survey released on Wednesday.

Brent crude lost 0.55 percent to USD 75.47 a barrel.

According to the exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought securities worth Rs 1,602.16 crore on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Sensex slid 379.46 points or 0.53 percent to 71,892.48. The Nifty slipped 76.10 points or 0.35 percent to 21,665.80.

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