Investors poorer by Rs 1.5 lakh crore in two days as financial, IT shares weigh on market

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses to a second straight day on Wednesday amid selling pressure in financial, IT and oil & gas shares. Dalal Street took largely negative cues from global markets amid weak corporate earnings, mixed macroeconomic data and the US debt ceiling talks. 

Both headline indices finished the day 0.6 per cent lower. The Sensex lost 371.8 points to end at 61,560.6, and the Nifty settled at 18,181.8, down 104.8 points from its previous close. 

Investors lost Rs 1.5 lakh crore in wealth as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 277.2 lakh crore at the end of the day, according to provisional exchange data.   

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Apollo Hositals, SBI Life, TCS, HCL Tech, Asian Paints and Infosys were the worst hit among the 35 laggards in the Nifty basket, closing with losses of 1-2 per cent. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, IndusInd Bank, UPL and Bharti Airtel, rising around one per cent each for the day, were the top gainers in the 50-scrip blue-chip universe.

Among heavyweights, Infosys, Reliance, ICICI Bank and TCS posed maximum pressure on both main gauges. 

Barring the Nifty FMCG and the Nifty Auto, which eked out gains of 0.1 per cent each, all of NSE's sectoral gauges finished the day in the red.

Bharti Airtel shares closed 0.7 per cent stronger at Rs 793.2 apiece on BSE, a day after the telecom major reported a near-doubling of quarterly net profit and announced a dividend of Rs 4 per share. Read more on Bharti Airtel Q4 results | Should you buy, hold or sell BHARTIARTL shares?

Bank of Baroda shares gave up initial gains though looked much better than the rest of the market, finishing the day 0.3 per cent lower at Rs 185.9, after the PSU lender reported a strong set of earnings. Read more on BANKBARODA Q4 results

Kaynes Tech shares — which debuted on the bourses late last year — surged 16.9 per cent to a record closing high of Rs 1,165.9 apiece, after the end-to-end and IoT solutions-enabled integrated electronics maker reported 107.5 per cent growth in its quarterly net profit. Read more on Kaynes Tech

A majority of Adani group stocks were under pressure after the Supreme Court granted market regulator Sebi additional time, till August 14, to complete its probe into possible violation of securities law and regulatory disclosures by the conglomerate. Adani Transmission (ADANITRANS) and Adani Total Gas (ATGL), down 2.8 per cent and five per cent respectively, were the worst hit. The group's flagship, Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT) rose 0.6 per cent. Read more on latest in Adani-Hindenburg case

Among broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 inched 0.1 per cent lower and the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.3 per cent. 

Overall market breadth, however, remained largely neutral, as 1,703 stocks rose and 1,785 fell at the closing bell on BSE.

Global markets

European equities began the day struggling below the flatline amid fears whether the US can avoid a debt default, with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 falling 0.5 per cent at the last count.

The futures contracts of the three main Wall Street indices — the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, however, were up around half a per cent each, suggesting a mildly positive start ahead in the US.  

Catch highlights of the May 17 session on Dalal Street here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.