Closing Bell: Nifty ends near 17,200, Sensex down 300 points; auto, banking stocks drag

The Indian markets erased all gains made in the morning session as benchmarks ended with more than half per cent cut Wednesday. Rising crude and Russia-Ukraine factors continue to weigh on the domestic market, forcing it to trade volatile.     

The Nifty50 slipped below 17,300, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed with over 300 points loss as they closed on 17,223.60 and 57,684.82 respectively. 

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Nifty midcap index gained, while small cap indices followed benchmarks to end in the red.  

The Nifty Bank dropped more than 200 points to end near 36,100 as banking stocks dragged. Auto, banking and realty stocks declined the most, while some buying interest was seen in metal, pharma and oi & gas sectors.  

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said market is getting cautious after the recent rally. "Volatility is back due to inflationary pressures triggered by supply constraints, while consistently rising input cost & fall in demand due to surge in covid cases in parts of the world, war & high commodity prices are impacting earnings growth which can lead to downgrade in outlook. An end to the war & rise in supply can help India to sustain it resilience or else it will be a challenge in the short-term," he added.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities, said today being the second Anniversary of the Covid lows, NIFTY has indeed traversed a long way by posting a whopping 127% return since then. "The Indian Investor has displayed the courage in transforming the investing landscape by believing in Equities as an asset-class even as FPI's pulled out big time. Metals bucked the general trend today led by Steel & Aluminium stocks on the back of price hikes. In the broader markets, the Midcap Index too posted smart gains with select constituents recording big gains today on the back of huge volumes," he added.

Meanwhile, Divis Laboratories, Hindalco, Dr Reddy's, Tata Steel, UPL, ITC, PowerGrid and NTPC gained the most, while HDFC Ltd, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Britannia, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Maruti, M&M and Infosys were top laggards. 

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advice expressed here in this article are solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)