Sensex falls 214 points, Nifty ends below 17,100; metals, IT stocks drag

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Domestic benchmark equity indices gave up early gains and closed in the red on Wednesday as investors booked profits across metal and IT counters. Sensex ended at 57,338.21, down 214.18 points or 0.37%, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 55.95 points or 0.33% lower at 17,076.25. Earlier in the day, both Sensex and Nifty had hit new lifetime highs of 57,919 and 17,226 levels, respectively.

“On a day of high volatility, Indices gave up gains as profit booking was seen across IT & Metal names. The pace of vaccinations during the last couple of days enthused market participants even as the street took stock of GDP and GST numbers today the focus now shifts to few high-frequency consumption indicators,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Gainers & losers

Top gainers & losers on the Sensex.

Sectoral strand

Sectoral indices ended mixed on the NSE. Nifty Realty, ended 5.57% higher, outperforming the benchmarks. While Nifty Bank, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto indices added up to 0.41% each.

On the downside, the Nifty Metal lost the most, down 1.79%, followed by the Nifty IT index falling 1.33% and Nifty Pharma down 0.17%.

Broader market

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The BSE MidCap index ended at record highs of 24,072 advancing 219 points or 0.92% after scaling to a new peak of 24,107. The BSE SmallCap index settled at 26,979 up by 60 points or 0.22%.

However, the market breadth turned negative as 1,668 shares declined compared to 1,509 advanced and 153 remained unchanged.

Economy

The goods and services tax (GST) revenue collections for August 2021 stood at Rs 1.12 lakh crore, crossing the crucial mark for the second month in a row. The collections stood at Rs 1.16 lakh crore in July and Rs 92,849 crore in June. The robust GST revenues are likely to continue in the coming months too, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Global markets

European stocks rallied across the board while most Asian stocks were positive on Wednesday.

The eurozone inflation data for August showed consumer prices increased by 3% this month from a year ago, according to preliminary estimates. This was far above expectations and the European Central Bank’s 2% target. The data will put pressure on the central bank to address inflation concerns at a key meeting next week.

China’s Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 last month, from 50.3 in July, breaching the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.