New Delhi, 14 October (H.S.):
The domestic stock market closed in negative territory on Wednesday, the third trading day of the week, as rising wholesale inflation and elevated crude oil prices dampened investor sentiment. Both benchmark indices ended lower, with the BSE Sensex declining 252 points and the NSE Nifty shedding 99 points.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 251.89 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 72,781.89. During the session, the index touched an intraday high of 73,195.26 and a low of 72,578.75.
Similarly, the 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) declined 99.25 points, or 0.44 per cent, to settle at 22,622.70. The market remained under pressure as investors booked profits following the previous session’s strong rally.
Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, ICICI Bank and InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, were among the biggest laggards. In contrast, shares of Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and Reliance Industries advanced, limiting the overall losses.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.36 per cent to trade at $106.10 per barrel, adding to concerns over inflationary pressures and their potential impact on the domestic economy.
Asian equity markets also ended lower. South Korea’s KOSPI, Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all closed in the red. European markets, however, were trading with a positive bias during the afternoon session.
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, India’s wholesale price inflation rose to 11.39 per cent in September, compared with 9.92 per cent in August. The increase was attributed to rising prices of food items, manufactured products, and fuel and electricity.
The higher inflation figures heightened concerns about price pressures in the economy, contributing to the cautious mood among investors.
In the previous trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex had surged 1,109.10 points to close at 73,033.78, while the Nifty had gained 358.60 points, or 1.60 per cent, to settle at 22,721.95.
Wednesday’s decline reflected profit-booking after the previous session’s strong gains, alongside concerns over rising wholesale inflation and higher crude oil prices.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
