New Delhi, 22 July (H.S.): The domestic equity market ended sharply lower for the third consecutive trading session on Wednesday, with investors losing approximately Rs 4.10 lakh crore in market wealth in a single day. The market opened on a weak note and witnessed sustained selling pressure soon after trading began, dragging both the Sensex and the Nifty significantly lower.

Although buyers attempted to provide support through intermittent bouts of buying during the session, the intensity of selling pressure kept the market firmly under stress. At the close of trade, the BSE Sensex settled 0.92 per cent lower, while the NSE Nifty ended down 0.79 per cent.

Market participants attributed the sharp decline to escalating tensions in West Asia, rising crude oil prices, and heavy selling in select sectors. Sentiment was further dented after US President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on generic pharmaceutical products, triggering widespread selling across pharmaceutical stocks. The IT and banking sectors also witnessed significant selling pressure, further weakening overall market sentiment.

The BSE Sensex opened 85.16 points, or 0.11 per cent lower, at 77,384.95. Selling pressure intensified shortly after the opening bell, pushing the index steadily lower. A little after noon, the Sensex had plunged 828.92 points, or 1.07 per cent, to an intraday low of 76,641.19.

Buyers later attempted to stabilise the market through selective buying, but the recovery remained limited due to persistent selling. The Sensex eventually recovered more than 110 points from its day's low but still closed down 715.06 points at 76,755.05.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 37.25 points, or 0.15 per cent lower, at 24,150.45. Early buying briefly lifted the index to 24,166.30 before sustained selling erased the gains. The index later dropped 226.30 points, or 0.94 per cent, to an intraday low of 23,961.40.

Subsequent buying helped the Nifty recover modestly from its lowest level of the day. However, continued selling pressure prevented any meaningful rebound, and the benchmark finally settled at 23,996.25, down 191.45 points, or 0.79 per cent.

Throughout the trading session, pharmaceutical, banking and information technology stocks remained under heavy selling pressure. The media sector also witnessed a sharp decline, with the Nifty Media Index falling 2.68 per cent. The Nifty Realty Index declined 2.60 per cent, while the Consumer Durables, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Metal and Energy indices also ended in negative territory.

In contrast, automobile and FMCG stocks attracted buying interest. The broader market also remained under pressure, with the Nifty Midcap Index closing 1.09 per cent lower and the Nifty Smallcap Index ending the session down 1.54 per cent.

The market downturn wiped out more than Rs 4 lakh crore of investors' wealth. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE declined to an estimated Rs 480.11 lakh crore at the close of trade, compared with Rs 484.21 lakh crore in the previous session on Tuesday. As a result, investors suffered a notional loss of approximately Rs 4.10 lakh crore during the day's trading.

A total of 4,418 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the session. Of these, 1,458 advanced, while 2,780 declined and 180 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,995 stocks were actively traded, with 875 ending higher and 2,120 closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, six stocks advanced while 24 ended in the red. Similarly, 11 of the 50 Nifty constituents closed higher, whereas 39 ended with losses.

Among the top gainers, Bajaj Auto surged 5.72 per cent, followed by Nestle India, up 2.87 per cent, Tata Consumer Products, which gained 1.24 per cent, Power Grid Corporation, which advanced 0.91 per cent, and ONGC, which rose 0.80 per cent.

On the losing side, InterGlobe Aviation emerged as the biggest laggard, falling 3.54 per cent. It was followed by Jio Financial Services, down 2.18 per cent, Infosys, which declined 1.99 per cent, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, down 1.92 per cent, and State Bank of India, which slipped 1.86 per cent.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar